What could've been
by zzdoricorezz
Summary: This story looks at Max and Lydecker in a father-daughter relationship. It looks at what could've been as it follows a thread through season 1 and are interpreted in this context. Picks up after season 2.
1. Chapter 1 Flashes

Hi all, after stumbling upon Dark Angel 18 years later, I realized that I'm still very much hooked on it. There is however, one specific thing about Dark Angel that stood out back then and still does now - to me anyway. The relationship between Max and Lydecker.

So, this story is a Max and Lydecker centric. It's going to focus on Max and Lydecker in a father-daughter relationship.

FYI, I did not get to read the third book and I am not impressed with the 2nd season either. So this story is going to be much more in line with season 1.

So for this story to make better sense, here's some things to know before reading this story:

1) In this story the cloning never happened. There is only one Max, and the same with everybody else who came out of Manticore. That's because if Max was only a clone of many, then why would Max be specifically special to Lydecker if there are more than one Max? Something the 2nd season ruined. So the cloning is non-existent in this story.

2) Sure I'll leave room for the anomalies that came out of the basement of Manticore and the other more 'creative creations', but when they started with vampires and mermaids - it got out of hand. So that doesn't exist in this story either.

Just some additional info: It's not a perfect story and it's not written perfectly either, it's only to share my idea of what could've happened.

Happy reading...and reviews are welcome.

* * *

 _Flashes…_

Flashes…

Flashes of people…..

Flashes of her people…..

Flashes of the people of freak nation….

Flashes of panic…..

Of screams…..

All around her….

Flashes of how they choke….

Flashes of how they fall to the ground…..

Flashes of them all lying on the floor….

She feels numb, her hears are ringing, she's trying to just figure out what is going on but the whole world just keeps on spinning in a blur.

And then Alec, he's moving away… almost like he's trying to get away from something.

She turns and sees Joshua lying on the floor, not moving, _why is he not moving?_

She turns back again and sees CC also and then Alec being pushed to the ground and then CC as she's being shocked with a tasor.

She's vaguely aware of scattered people moving around but she can't focus, she just can't, her head is spinning, and so is the world.

Turning back to where she last saw Alec and CC, her heart skips a beat before it stops all together as she focuses on the man that is making his way straight towards her… White.

She has to run, she has to get out, she has to get the others….. the others…. And then she remembers as she looks around her at the bodies littered all over the floor around her….the others. She frowns… _what is going on?_ Everything is foggy, she can't think, she can't…

And then her attempt to try and make any sense is cut short as a taser is stuck into her side…. she starts to shake….pain… and then the floor….cold… hard.

As her head is lying on the cold cement floor, she sees the other transgenics also lying on the floor, but they're not moving, they're not doing anything.. why? What happened?

Her view is obstructed as the world suddenly turns as White rolls her over with his foot. He hovers over her as she finally makes eye contact with him, sort of, his face is blurry...

"452…"

She can see his mouth move but she can't hear anything, her ears are still ringing….with a stinging pain in it.

White stands up from crouching and says something to his men that she only notices now that are surrounding her. This is the worst tactical situation that one can possible find oneself in. Unable to move, unable to fight… unable to even stand. Cannot hear, cannot focus and surrounded by the enemy.

One of the men steps closer and then the world starts to shake but then she realizes it's actually just her shaking as a tasor is pushed into her side… again.

And then….

Darkness…

...

"Max"

"Max" It sounds like a faint echo from far away.

"Max!" That sounded closer, more urgent. She has to wake up, she has to get up, something is going on.

She tries to open her eyes but they won't. She frowns. She tries to wipe her eyes with her hands but her arms won't move. Nothing moves.

She can't move.

She starts to panic…

Max feels a slight shake. "Max, wake up." Someone is trying to wake her up. She voice sounds familiar, sounds worried.

Her eyes are heavy but she has to open them, she has to know what is going on. Did she pass out?

After willing her eyes to open with everything that she's got, the first things she sees is….

...Lydecker?

She tries to frown, what is going on! Move Max! Get up! Do anything! She starts shouting in her head but it only fades away with the fogginess she's still drowned in.

Her head is tilted up and she looks right into Lydecker's face that is going in and out of focus with her vision. She vaguely feels his hands holding her head up. She tries to move away but cannot. _I knew he couldn't be killed..._

Moving her focus away, Max can see blurry images of something that looks like bars …..a cell. Has she been captured?! But wait wasn't Lydecker on our side? Didn't he help blow up the DNA lab? Why is he here? Did he go back to work for Manticore?

Words that are spoken by Lydecker seems like a whisper and an echo floating around her, she can't make out any of it and the world suddenly falls away….and then it feels like she is floating. The sealing above her is slowing flying over her and the lights are drifting along. Is she dying? Or dreaming? Weird dream, I'd like to wake up now.

She didn't even realize how cold she was until she started to feel warm. It makes her feel better... more comfortable… and she's floating but to where? She turns her head a much as she can and then catches sight of Lydecker again. Why is he so close?... why is my head on his shoulder?...and then panic sinks in as Max realizes that he is carrying her.

She tries to move again but to no avail. She still feels numb, like she has been sedated. And her muscles ache like she has been shocked with a tasor.

Max is enveloped by darkness as Lydecker carries her out of the building into the dark night. He heads straight for his car that has been parked off to the side where no one would think it suspicious.

He carefully lies Max down on the back seat and then closes the door and gets in behind the wheel and pulls off into the night.

...

The slight shake of the car wakes Max but she doesn't open her eyes. She's warm and comfortable and hope that this is still like 2am and she can at least get another 3 hours of beauty sleep before she has to get up and get to Jam Pony. Normal always seems impressed when she shows up on time.

There's another shake and then Max realizes that she's not in her bed but in a moving car. She tries to jump up but it's like a thick heaving blanket is holding her limbs down. She starts to panic….. and then her memory flashes…. _people screaming… another flash… White…. another flash… Lydecker._

She forces her eyes open, even just enough to see where she is and what the situation is and she finds herself staring into something black. She moves her eyes and then realizes she's lying on the back seat of a car and moving her eyes up she sees Lydecker behind the wheel, driving. He doesn't seem to notice her being awake so if there ever was a chance to get the upper hand, it is now, he's totally unsuspecting. But then Max realizes that she can't move and then her eyes slips closed as she don't even have the energy to keep them open. The only thing she seems to be capable of doing right now is just to breathe. And so she focuses on her breathing as an anchor.

...

Three hours later a black SUV moves through the woods and pulls into an area that has a camouflaged building, hidden away where a helicopter or satellite cannot spot it. Lydecker pulls into an entrance that seems to go down into a basement.

Lydecker switches the engine off and before he gets out, he first looks back at Max who is still unconscious. He then proceeds up a small flight of stairs and unlocks a door. He enters and then not long he returns. He opens the back door of his SUV on the side where Max's head is lying.

"Max." Lydecker tries to see if she'll wake up.

When there is no response he leans over her and looks at her face, he then brings his hand up and puts it on her forehead to feel her temperature. She's got a cold fever.

As Lydecker takes Max by the shoulders to move her out of the car, Max's eyes open, slightly but she's awake… if just barely.

"Max we're here." Lydecker tells her as he moves her into a sitting position.

Here? Where's here? Manticore? No wait, Lydecker isn't with Manticore anymore. Well, not that she's aware of. If Lydecker was back with Manticore, wouldn't his men be the ones to yank her around?

She slightly turns her head and she realizes that she can move, not much but at least much more than the last time she woke up and she drowsily looks around to see where here is.

"Come, let's get you inside." Lydecker's voice, right next to her. And then she feels something behind her as he slips his arm around her back and moves her out of the car. Max sees the ground and tries to move her legs but they won't. How's she going to get out? And with that Lydecker hooks his other arm under her legs and picks her up.

For a moment that floating feeling returns. And then she tenses up, or tries to, her mind is tensing up but not her body. Why is Lydecker touching her? ... worse, why can't she move?

She sighs to herself in her mind, she knows this feeling well. She's definitely sedated.

She opens her eyes that she didn't even realize has slipped closed and she looks around as Lydecker is carrying her towards the small flight of stairs. It looks like a garage, in a basement, with stuff standing everywhere, like a warehouse. They then pass through a door and then a hallway and then another door and then there's a room. But it kind of looks like a living room, with couches, table, chairs… like the inside of a house.

Lydecker places her down on a couch and then slightly comes to hover over her as he places a hand on her forehead. His hand feels cool.

"It's alright, you're safe now." Lydecker says in a reassuring tone. Like the same tone he used that night... "It's alright… I'm not going to let anything happen to you…" And then Max recalls the memory of being shot and then waking up with Renfro in her face and then the months that she spent at Manticore.

 _Kinda failed there Don._ Max thinks to herself in a mocking voice.

As Lydecker moves away from her and leaves the room, Max looks at her surroundings and her eyes fall on a window. Keep that in mind for an escape… and that's just about the last thing on her mind before she slips back into unconsciousness.

 _Flashes….._

 _Flashes of people screaming, and falling all around her….._

 _A nightmare…_

When Max wakes up again she feels warm and comfortable but something doesn't feel right. She opens her eyes and finds herself in an unknown place. This isn't her apartment, it isn't Logan's penthouse, this is nowhere familiar to her. She closes her eyes for a moment to try and remember what the last thing was that she remembers…..

Freak nation…..people all around her on the floor…..White….. Lydecker…..

She opens her eyes again, takes a deep breath and then slowly pushes herself up into a sitting position. She can move, she still feels the numbness in her muscles but she can move. She looks down and finds a blanket that was covering her, she looks around the room and sees her shoes on the floor and her jacket hanging over the back of a chair. How did it get there? She can't recall.

"You're awake"

Max turns her head and finds Lydecker standing in the doorway. He still looks the same, with black leather jacket and all.

"You've been out for over a day." Lydecker's tone is calm as he grabs a chair as he walks over to Max with a glass of water. He places the chair in front of Max and sits down.

Max straightens her body in an attempt to move away from Lydecker, she doesn't know what's going on and she's not going to take any chances.

"Here." Lydecker holds the glass of water out to her.

Max doesn't take it, she just eyes it suspiciously.

"Where am I?" She gets right to the point although her voice is weak and for a moment she wonders to herself if those words were even audible.

"In a safe place." Yes, that's very comforting coming from Lydecker. Manticore is his safe place….was his safe place.

"Where am I?" Max tries to put emphasis in her voice that she will beat him silly if he doesn't start to co-operate but she finds her voice is as weak as her body.

Lydecker takes a deep breath. "You're at my house."

Wait, Lydecker has an actual house? Always thought that he didn't leave Manticore, he probably slept in his office.

"That nobody knows about." He adds to reassure Max.

Well that does make sense. He wouldn't be dumb enough to hang around a place where someone can just look him up on company records or the phone book.

"How are you feeling?" Lydecker slightly tilts his head with the question.

Max wonders for a moment of how to put it. "Like I've been chased, beaten, shocked with a taser, sedated and then locked up." She gives Lydecker a look that says, I remember everything that you and Manticore did to me.

Lydecker doesn't miss the look. "You should feel better in a couple of days." He then sits back as he realizes Max probably doesn't like him crowding her personal space.

Max breaks eye contact and starts looking around the room. Lydecker takes the queue and places the glass of water on a side table and then stands.

"Get some rest." He says as he's walking out of the room.

"Wait."

Lydecker stops but doesn't turn around to face her.

"What happened?" That really is the only thing that Max is interested in at the moment. She's confused and she wants to know what is going on.

Lydecker only turns his head to the side but still doesn't turn around. "Get some rest Max." He inhales and then walks out.

Max stares at the empty doorway where Lydecker just left. Something doesn't feel right here. He couldn't look her in the eye. Why?

She then turns and looks at the glass of water standing on the side table. She contemplates whether it could be drugged or just plain, clean, fresh water that she really would like to drink. She flexes her hand and makes a fist to see if she's got enough power in her muscles and then she slowly reaches out and takes the water. She brings the glass to her mouth but before she drinks she takes a cautionary sniff just to be sure and then she downs the glass.

 _Flashes_

 _Max is standing with CC as they listen to how Alec and Mole is having, in their opinion, an absolutely pointless argument. Max looks over to CC and they both pull a 'whatever' look. Max then spots one of the X7's that she named "Stare", because he can stare and stare and stare… Max looks at him as he is slowly approaching the windows as if a tiger is waiting on the other side and he is intently looking up into the sky._

 _"Hey, Stare, what's up?" Max pipes with not a worry in the world._

 _"There's something out there…up there." He points to the sky without even lifting his arm._

 _The next moment Joshua comes barreling into the room, "Did you hear that?!" All eyes in the room falls on Joshua – he's never alarmed. Something is going down. Joshua lifts his nose into the air as he starts to sniff and smell. They all make their way to the window and look out into the sky but they see nothing._

 _"Max!" Alec suddenly jerks her by the arm and points outside down to the streets of Terminal City._

 _The looks of confused shock finds its way onto their faces… and then panic. "What is going on?!" CC asks in an alarming tone as they look at the freaks… people of Terminal City start to stumble around on the streets like they are being choked. And then the screaming starts. And then… blood… blood coming from their eyes and ears._

 _"Get everyone inside!" Max yells._

 _The next moment she's standing in the middle of the hangar with people all around her, stumbling, bleeding, screaming, lying on the floor. Her lungs burn, her eyes burn, her ears. Is she also breeding?! Panic, panic, PANIC…_

"Max wake up!"

Max suddenly jerks awake and finds Lydecker holding her shoulders, shaking her, leaning over her. Max tries to punch him but she's still weak. Lydecker catches her hand with ease, _yip she's definitely not in any shape to fight._

He then slowly returns her hand as he steps back.

"It was just a nightmare." Lydecker calmly says as he moves away from Max.

Breathing in a few more labored breaths, Max moves to sit up and starts shaking her head.

"No…. no…. that was no nightmare." A labored whisper.

Lydecker takes a seat on the couch opposite Max as he watches her. His heart is breaking for her, this will break her heart…

After a long silence watching Max's face pull into a frown as she is staring at the floor trying to recall what happened, Lydecker decides to say something.

"It was a pathogen…"

Immediately Max's memory starts pulling up the scenes of how she and another transgenic jumped off that building into a water hold to not breathe in the pathogen that White had paid some crazy scientist for that they were testing.

Lydecker can see that she has some kind of idea of what he's talking about.

"It was probably created to target a specific DNA strain in the genetic code…." Lydecker stops midsentence, she doesn't care about the finer details.

"Reports say that they found 489 transgenics in Terminal City… only 13…was alive." There really was no other way of telling her the truth.

Max doesn't move, doesn't say anything.

"14 including you."

After a long silent stare, Max's face breaks and Lydecker can see the emotion of pain. His kids was trained to not show emotion, especially not in front of him but the pain of knowing what has happened is too much to keep a mask on, even in front of him.

Max turns her face away and hides behind her hair. Lydecker takes that as his queue to leave her to herself. It's not like she'll accept any comfort from him. He's probably the last person on this planet that she ever wanted to see again. Her reaction to telling her the truth about why she is so special to him clearly showed that she doesn't want anything to do with him. That's why he has disappeared altogether and decided to play dead.

But he has however, been keeping a close eye on the Manticore and 'freak nation' situation and on White and his operation and when he found out what happened and that they had taken Max captive, he couldn't just let that slide. He couldn't just leave her there. He just couldn't.

Lydecker takes a seat behind his desk in his office and picks up his phone.

* * *

It was in Season 2 ep 9 where Max hears about Lydecker's car that was pulled out of the river and she didn't believe he was that easy to kill.

Thanks for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2 Shoulder to cry on

"Are you doing ok?"

Syl pushes herself away from the door where she has been silently watching Logan sitting with his head in his hands. He is probably torn apart about what has happened and even worse that Max is missing and they don't even know if she's ok.

"Define _ok._ " Logan uses some sarcasm to try and hide his distress but who is he fooling?

"Look here, like I know Max, she's fine and she got out." Syl does her best to keep the spirits up but she can't help thinking to herself that if that is so, then where is she?

"Then where is she?" Logan just echoes her very thought.

The moment that Logan heard about what happened at Terminal City he rushed right over and got as close as what the police allowed. He wasn't very surprised when White showed up but then an entire convoy pulled up after him and they were packing. It's like they were ready and prepared for it. They stormed the building and every now and then a transgenic that they have taken custody of where brought out and put in a holding van.

That's when Logan had to do something as quick as possible and got in touch with his friend in the police. They showed up just in time as the vans were about to start pulling off and he got it right to take custody of the vans with the captured transgenics inside. He told White and his men that they will be taken into their custody but the moment the vans was free and clear, they made them disappear.

Only problem was that all the... well all 13 transgenics that survived was sick, quite badly. He made sure that they were taken to a safe place and got a normal doctor just to have a look in hopes that they will be able to do something.

When Logan returned to his penthouse that day, he found Krit and Syl waiting for him. They said that they heard about Manticore that has been burned down but then when they heard about what happened at Terminal City, they decided to track down Max but when they couldn't find her they tracked down Logan's address.

"I wish I knew where she was Logan, because then we would bring her home." Syl offers.

Just as Logan was about to respond, the phone rings next to him. With much hope that it's Max, Logan grabs the phone.

"Hello?" It came out more as a question but he caught himself just in time before he said 'Max?'.

"It's me."

And then there's a long silence.

"I thought you were dead." Logan is slightly shocked but more angry because he was trying to get in contact with Lydecker for months and he made him believe that he was dead.

"I get that a lot. Listen I'm phoning you to let you know that Max is alright." He takes a calming breath. "She's safe."

"Where is she?" Logan anxiously asks and Syl moves closer as she can tell it's about Max.

"She's with me." Lydecker calmly answers knowing what kind of ideas that might give some people.

"Well, where is that?" Logan's voice takes an edge of anxiousness.

"In an undisclosed location." Lydecker answers as calm as ever.

Logan runs his other hand though his hair as he takes a deep breath. "Lydecker, stop playing with me." Yeah, he was angry, he was irritated, he was worried, he was anxious, he doesn't want an _undisclosed_ answer.

"I'll get her to phone you."

And with that the line goes dead. Logan pulls the phone away from his ear and looks at it with surprise. Did Lydecker just put the phone down in his ear?

"And?" Syl asks with much expectation as she comes to stand in front of Logan. "Where is she, where's Max?"

Logan takes a deep breath, there really is no other way to break this news, _knowing that they do not like Lydecker._

"She's ok." Logan reassuringly nods to himself. "She's with Lydecker."

"She's what?!" Krit who at some point came into the office doesn't like that answer.

"What is she doing with him?" Syl asks.

"I don't know. He put the phone down in my ear." Logan answers in a voice of irritation as he walks out of his office to the kitchen. He needs coffee, he hasn't slept since the incident. And now that he knows where Max is and that she is safe, he can at least take a break and not feel guilty about it.

Now Max being with Lydecker may be a cause for alarm for the others, but for him knowing that Max is with Lydecker is a cause for relief. He knows that Max is safe with Lydecker. He most certainly cares about his _kids_ , in a twisted way, but he cares what happens to them. But Max, _Max especially_ , he cares very much for her. Logan has not yet been able to figure out why but from what he can tell, Max seems to hold a very special place in his heart.

He remembers, after they blew up the DNA lab and Max…got shot…and died….. He remembers waking up in the van and on their way back to the warehouse to regroup and split up. Lydecker was nothing short of heartbroken and he's sure that he saw Lydecker crying at some point but then again, he had definite tears in his own eyes. Who knows what he was really seeing.

At first he thought that it was because Lydecker had blown all of his precious work that he has done over the years to pieces. But then he started to notice that Max was a very touchy subject to him.

In the weeks following the DNA lab bombing… after he lost Max. When he was in depression like no other, hurt like no one can imagine. Lydecker would make unsuspecting phone calls or just uninvited show up in his living room, no knocking, no nothing. Logan always wondered what Lydecker was up to, he was suspicious of him but then he eventually started realizing that Lydecker is checking in on him to see if he is doing ok.

And that is where Logan really starting thinking. What is he to Lydecker except that he's Eyes Only and that he caused Manticore some trouble? To Lydecker personally, there was no reason for him to hang around and certainly not to care if he is ok. And that only leaves Max. Max is the only thing that ties them together.

* * *

Max is staring at nothing, staring into nothingness.

She's just got a blank look on her face as her mind is running wild thinking about Terminal City, thinking about Mole, thinking about the other transgenics…..thinking about Joshua….

Thinking about her failure. She basically has brought them out of Manticore and into freedom and led them straight to their deaths and something tells her that their deaths wasn't peaceful.

A lone tear rolls down her cheek. She has been trying to keep them in, the tears. She's been trying to be strong and not cry but she can't pretend like she's ok anymore, she can't pretend that anything is ok anymore.

A small sniffle escapes as another tear run down her cheek.

"You ok?"

Lydecker's soft voice startles her. Where did he come from and how long has he been there…watching?

She doesn't turn around.

Really? Him of all people. She really doesn't want to cry in front of him. Not in front of Colonel Donald Lydecker. But then again she doesn't want to talk to Logan either, or OC, or anyone else for that matter.

Lydecker told her that he let Logan know she's alright. She was glad about that, but she can't bring herself to phone Logan. She just can't, she can't talk to anyone, not after…not after…everyone is dead… and it's her fault.

A strangled sniffle escapes her as her heart is just torn and the tears won't stay back anymore. She makes sure her back is turned towards Lydecker. Maybe he catches the hint and leaves her alone in her own misery and tears.

A hiccup this time, and Max puts her closed fist over her mouth to keep quiet and she can feel the wet tears running down her cheeks, her hand and then down her sleeve.

She can't stop as the tears just keeps on rolling.

In the corner of her eye she catches that Lydecker has stepped closer to her and she covers her face with her hands, in vain trying to hide. And even though the man that taught her not to cry is standing right next to her, she just can't stop and she expects to hear his voice at any moment telling her to stop crying and to soldier-up. And she's not too sure how she will respond. Maybe storm off, maybe punch him.

Max feels something warm on her shoulder and realizes that it's Lydecker's hand as he turns her towards him. _Here it comes_. But then Max feels something warm on the back of her head as Lydecker cups her head with his other hand and slowly pulls her head onto his shoulder. This should be an alarming moment for Max, this is Lydecker. But instead Max feels like he's understanding, like he doesn't have a problem with her crying, like he's trying to comfort her…

 _Comfort her…_

 _Max is lying in the infirmary, again. She's just started to have yet another episode of seizures. They are scary, they are terrifying. Nothing good happens to those who get the seizures. She's shaking and she's scared. The doctors has just hooked her up to drips and machines and have left her to herself, the beeping of the machines and her aching body that won't stop shaking. The door opens but Max's eyes are closed and she keeps it that way, there are too many people coming in and out anyway to keep track in her state. Max is startled when she feels something warm on her forehead. A hand. "It's alright, it'll be better soon." Lydecker's voice, Lydecker's hand._

And for a fleeting moment, with Max leaning her head on Lydecker's shoulder, it suddenly feels familiar, feels safe. And then she starts to sob uncontrollably. She can feel the movement of Lydecker's hand in her hair, trying to comfort her.

Lydecker wants to tell her that's _it's ok_ , he wants to reassure her, he wants to say something that'll make it better but he doesn't because it is not ok.

"They're all…." Max tries to say something but gets choked up.

"They're all…gone." And Max keeps on sobbing on her words.

"And it's my fault." Her heart is completely torn.

Lydecker pulls her head into the crook of his neck. "It was an honest mistake." Keeping his tone calm as he rests his cheek on her head. He's not going to deny that mistakes were made on her part. They are soldiers, they should know better than to put all your eggs in one basket and then paint one big target on it for the whole world to see.

But he understands. Max wants a family that is together, not split up and no one knows where or how the others are. She didn't want to live like those 10 anymore.

Lydecker listens to Max's sobbing echoing in the silent room as he thinks to himself that Max hasn't pushed him away yet. Haven't killed him yet for that matter. She's actually letting him touch her, comfort her. Maybe…..there's still…..

A flicker of hope lights in Lydecker's heart as he holds Max while she continues to cry on his shoulder.

* * *

It's been a few days since the incident and Max is feeling much better. She pretty much has got her strength back and is almost feeling like her old self. Physically speaking, mentally however is another thing. Nothing will ever be the same. Not only does she blame herself for what happened but what about those who are still alive, they will probably never forgive her. She can't look Logan in the eye or anyone else for that matter.

Staying here with Lydecker hasn't been too bad. He mostly keeps to himself.

But now that he's around, she has been thinking lately. About him. About herself….. about them.

She always kind of had an inkling of an idea that Lydecker favored her. Ever since Manticore when they were kids, ever since he would hang around the infirmary when she wasn't well.

And then that night before the take down of the DNA lab happened. She remembers waking up in some cheap hotel, cuffed to the bed with a drunk Lydecker sitting next to her. It was very concerning to say the least. But since she still had effects of the sedation, she decided to wait it out and see what happens, wait for a more opportune moment.

But then, things kind of got weird when Lydecker started talking about the thing that she often times wondered about, his visits to the infirmary when she was there. And then it got even weirder when he started talking about somebody he once loved. And then _sometimes I wish I could take you away, where they couldn't do anything to you_ … _you're special to me Max, I hope you know that._ She can still hear his voice echoing in her head clear as day. It startled her that night. That was so not what she was expecting. But he was talking like somebody on their death bed, and people on their death bed doesn't tell lies. And then sure as day, he pulled out his gun.

She often thought to herself _well I did say I'd rather die than go back to Manticore_ but Lydecker took that into his own hands.

And then during those few short months at Manticore that felt like a few hellish years, she had a lot of time to think. To think about him, what he said.

That night they were outside the top hat bar waiting and she decided that she's not going to go through life wondering and she just asked him out right what was on her mind _I have a bad feeling that you were going to tell me that you're me…father?_ He denied it and she was glad, she was relieved, life could go on now, normal as normal could get in her life. But then things took a turn for the most unexpected when Lydecker kept on talking. _She was my wife, I kept a small part of her alive in you…_

It was so unsuspected and outrageous that the only thing that her mind could formulate was that he basically tried to clone his wife because he loves her and misses her too much. That's why she almost took his head off and the only reason she thinks she didn't hurt him was because they needed him to pull of the Manticore job the next night.

But then when she was locked up in isolation at Manticore, which was just about always, her mind was constantly wrestling with this. Constantly wondering about what he meant.

She thought about what happened at the genetics conference when that gun was pointed at his head and at any moment he would be dead but she reacted before that could happen.

And she also thought about when Tinga gave herself up to save her son. When Tinga got out with her husband and little boy and they were saying their last goodbye and then never see each other again, she was so angry and she turned around to where Lydecker stood behind her and she was going to give him the most deadly glare she can muster up but when she turned around she looked right into his eyes, he was already watching her and the look he gave her… she couldn't do anything but freeze up. He kept looking at her, it was a look of deep longing, perhaps regret?

She wondered to herself if she will ever see him again. From what she could tell, it was only her and Zack that was captured that night and no one else was killed, so she concluded that Logan, Syl, Krit and Lydecker made it out. And then when she escaped and Manticore burned down to the ground, she didn't hear of him again anyway and no one else mentioned him. So she decided to let it go and not let it weigh on her mind too much. But she did always have a wonder in the back of her mind of how she will react if she sees him again.

Then one day she hears from Logan that Lydecker seemed to have been in contact with him. She has to be honest, she did feel kind of deprived of something. She had put it behind her and all of the time Lydecker was out there somewhere, watching. So she brushed it off with her usual _who cares_ attitude and decided not to meddle with how the situation has turned out.

But then she found herself still wondering where Lydecker is and what he is up to. And then one day Logan told her that he has been trying to get in contact with him. It took her by surprise. And then Logan told her of his SUV that was pulled out of the river and that he was assumed dead. Of course Max wasn't going to believe that of the person who has trained and hunted genetically engineered soldiers for a living. He can't be killed that easily…can he? The thought of Lydecker being dead, left her with a very strange feeling, almost like she has lost something but she doesn't know what. She didn't get to have that talk with him after all. But maybe it wasn't _that_ important and Max just moved on.

But now since Lydecker is back, back in her life, in the same space, under the same roof. After he had saved her from White and his men by risking himself being caught, after he had been taking care of her….. All of these things are now weighing heavy on her heart and mind and she has to have closure, she has to know what is really going on. It can no longer be ignored.

And that's why she is sitting here on the desk behind Lydecker where he is busy on his computer. He didn't even hear her sneak in and he is totally unaware that she has been sitting there silently watching him for quite some time now.

This too, makes her think. He must really trust her. She could kill him, easily, at any moment, and nobody would ever of known.

"What am I to you?"

Max's voice in the quiet rooms besides keyboard clicks clearly startles Lydecker as he jerks his head to the side. _Nope, he definitely didn't know she was there._

He slowly turns back to his computer as he takes a deep breath. One that clearly says he's getting ready to do or die. Like that same deep breath he took that night when he told her about his _wife._

Maybe this was a bad idea, a mistake.

But no, she has to know. She has to know what _this_ is. She has to know for sure whether he is a complete creep and that she needs to get as far away from him as possible or if he is actually as caring towards his _kids_ as he claims and that she doesn't have to always be looking over her shoulder when it comes to him.

There's a long silence as neither one of them move or say anything and Max starts wondering if she should repeat her question or maybe explain it when Lydecker turns his chair so that he is sitting sideways.

"The last time I tried to be truthful with you, I almost lost my head." His voice honest.

There's a short silence.

"Don't worry, I'll first think it through before I kill you this time." Max works some sarcasm into the situation before it turns awkward.

And then there's another deep breath of contemplation and Max wonders if he knows that she can hear that.

Lydecker then raises his right hand and holds it out in front of him, almost kind of like a handshake gesture but then flexes it back and points towards himself.

"I….."

Pause. Deep breath.

From her angle Max can see the expression on his face.

"I.. would like to think….of you…" And then his hand points into her direction.

"…as the daughter …." And then gestures back to himself again. ".. I could never have.."

There, it is said. It is out in the open. Out of the dark recesses of his mind. Out of that corner of his heart where he tries to hide everything away and pretend they don't exist.

"Ok." That's the only acknowledgement that Max gives after a short silence. But there's something in her tone that makes Lydecker glance into her direction and quickly look away.

After some silence Max speaks up. "I was going to take your head off that night because it sounded like I was a copy or the reincarnation of your _wife."_ Max didn't really want to mention his wife, clearly there is somethings best to stray away from.

Lydecker's face pulls into one of disgust. "No." An absolute strong no. Clearly he is disgusted with that idea. Good. Let him feel the same disgust that she did that night, it'll teach him to explain things better.

"I kind of figured." Max says under her breath. More to herself than to him. After much thought about this, Max came to her own conclusion that Lydecker sees her as his daughter, being made in the image of his wife and all. But she just wanted him to confirm it. She doesn't really know what to do with it now that she knows for sure but at least it's better to know he's not a total sociopath that shouldn't have been let near any genetics. Well, not in the whole bring his wife back from the dead way.

Another glance her way and then he turns away slightly.

"That night when we took down the DNA lab, when you were _killed_." His tone tells that in one way or another it broke his heart.

"When Cale held your limp lifeless body in his arms…." Another deep breath.

"I wasn't thinking soldier, I wasn't thinking few millions in R&D, I wasn't thinking failure….. the only thing that went through my mind was… I lost my wife and now I lost my daughter….after failing them both." He uses his fingers to gesture and then takes another deep breath as he pauses.

"And I was too much of a coward to even tell her that." He turns his head slightly into the direction of Max but doesn't make eye contact. "To tell you that."

Clearly he struggles with expressing his feelings.

Feelings.

Feelings and Lydecker is a scary thought. More so, feelings that he has for Max.

Lydecker dare not turn around. He so badly wants a response from her but he can't look her in the eye. He who is a soldier, has been for most his life, stared death in the face more than once.. and the committee…. And he can't even look her in the eye as he is being truthful with her. Perhaps it's because he can't control her response, like he controls everything else.

Suddenly the atmosphere is tense. Lydecker doesn't know if he should say more and Max doesn't know what to say at all.

Both of them slightly jerk as Lydecker's phone suddenly starts ringing. He looks at his phone and then straightens out and lifts his head, like when he does when he is agitated.

"And this is way you should never use your own personal number to phone a computer hacker." Lydecker voice drawls as he knew that it would come back to bite him. He always phones Cale from a payphone where he cannot be tracked but it's quite a drive from where they are. He just wanted to let Cale know that Max was alright because he knew he was probably having a heart attack not knowing where Max is or if she's ok.

Lydecker holds the phone out to Max. He's not doing the message in between thing for them. Either she talks to him or she doesn't.

Max looks at the ringing phone for a moment and then hops off the table where she was sitting and takes the phone.

"Hey."

Logan's heart just about stops or jumps when he hears Max's voice.

"Hey yourself." He smiles as he feels relief just flooding his heart. "You're alright?"

"I'm ok." Max really didn't want to get into details on the phone.

"You're alright where you are?" Logan inquires just to be sure that Max is ok with Lydecker.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry, I haven't killed him yet." Max jabs, everything just feels better when we're all pretending.

"I was just wondering when I'm going to see you… When we are going to see you." Logan turns around and looks the others standing behind him. He told them about trying to trace the number Lydecker phoned him on and they were all there when he picked up the phone to call. Syl, Krit and … Brin. Yes Brin. She showed up a day after the Terminal City incident, her old self and she has been hanging around and catching up with Krit and Syl.

Max catches the 'we' but she doesn't want to get into it. She doesn't want to discuss who has survived and who is dead right now.

"Probably soon. Don't worry, I won't run away forever." She jabs some more to lighten the mood.

"Ok, we'll be waiting for." Logan catches that she isn't really talkative.

"Ok, see you soon." Max really doesn't know when she's going to see him. But she's glad about this phone call, things seem better now. Seem like there are more solid ground to stand on.

Logan puts the phone down and turns his chair around. "She's ok."

"Yeah we heard that." Krit reminds him that they have excellent hearing.

"And we'll see her soon." Syl offers as she too is backing Krit.

"How soon is the question."

* * *

The Manticore DNA lab bombing of course happened in Season 1 ep 21

Thanks for reading :)


	3. Chapter 3 Second Chance

It has now been three days since Max had the phone conversation with Logan.

Lydecker is taking one last cautionary look in his mirrors before he gets out and moves towards a building. Now that he has no more soldiers, he has to do his own recon. And so tonight he is setting up a new link to be able to hack into White's systems.

It is quite far away and it was quite a drive. But he needed the time alone by himself to think. About Max. About himself. About them.

Through all the years at Manticore with Max there as a kid and after she has run away and all the years he was trying to get her back, he always had the hope of being together as a family. Eventually. With Manticore in the picture. Because he wasn't going to leave Manticore. The only way anyone ever left Manticore was with a bullet. So he had to work Manticore into the plans for the future with Max by his side. That was always the objective that he was working towards. Reunited with Max as a family.

But after that night that Max almost took his head off after telling her the truth…that really wasn't the way he wanted to tell her. Everything was out of place, all his plans was scattered in chaos and he was drunk the first night and then the second night he had a hangover. None of these things ideal conditions to tell of your darkest secrets that only you are aware of.

He then lost all hope of ever having Max in his life in the context of a family. He was heartbroken but he also respected that Max is also her own person, it wasn't her choice to come into this world with the ideas that he had, and he respected her feelings, even though his was crushed.

He wanted to try and explain himself and the situation better but he was planning on doing that after the DNA lab job if he got a chance. But then that chance never came.

 _He can still feel her dead pulse on his fingers._

When he put Cale into the van and Syl and Krit returned and they asked where Max was, it took everything in him to say KIA with a straight face. All the way back to the warehouse, he was fighting off tears and at some point failed. It was at that moment that he knew that Max meant far more to him than what he had ever realized.

And then when he picked up in one of his hacks on Manticore that Max was still alive, he started working on a plan to get her out. He was first going to get all his plans straight before going to Cale. He didn't want to give him false hope. But then before he could even formulate a plan, she got out on her own and destroyed Manticore. He smiled to himself when he found out about it, _did he really think that she needed help?_ He was proud of her.

But then even after Max was alive and well and home, Lydecker wasn't sure if going back to attempt to talk to Max was a good idea. At first he kept his distance from her and only contacted Cale, hoping that his connection to Cale might bring him closer to Max but in the end it wasn't going to work. And after some nut rammed his car off the road and it appeared as if he had died, he decided to keep it that way.

Being close to Max, even if it was through Cale, it was hurting him. He didn't want to set himself up for failure. He didn't want to give himself false hope.

After Lydecker had successfully done everything in the building that he came for, he returns to his car and pulls off into the night returning back home.

But there is however hope now stirring in is heart. Max is the one who started the conversation on the topic. Max didn't just run away or stay away from him, she's the one who wants to know, she's the one who wants an explanation. The explanation that he wanted to give her after that night they blew up Manticore's DNA lab.

After thinking on these things, he realizes that he has been given a second chance. And he's not planning on wasting it.

* * *

Everything is calm and quiet where Max is standing with her arms folded as she looks out of the window at the light drizzle of rain. It's been a few days now since the incident and she feels good. Her strength, her energy, the only thing is that she still gets a bit dizzy, which really is a pain.

After the phone call with Logan, she and Lydecker kind of have been avoiding each other and then the one evening late, he said he had to go somewhere and he hasn't been back since. It has been two days now. Maybe Lydecker wanted to give her space. Maybe Lydecker wanted to give her a chance to leave if she so wished and that thought did cross her mind until she remembered that she isn't being held captive here, there's no need to run. She can stay until he comes back. But only thing is that it's been almost two whole days and to be very honest she was getting restless about it. Is it worry perhaps?

Max turns her head as her sharp hearing picks up a car coming and after a second or so she can tell it's Lydecker's car. Not long she hears the car door and then the door down the hall. She listens to his footsteps as she keeps on looking out of the window and then the footsteps stop behind her. He has obviously spotted her and then she waits for him to say something.

But there's only silence and for moment Max wonders if he has left.

"Max"

Max slightly jumps but not visibly. He's a lot closer than the hallway where she thought he might be standing. He has not lost the ability to sneak up on people without them even knowing it. She remembers this from Manticore as a kid.

Turning her head to acknowledge that she heard him, Max doesn't turn to look at him but she keeps looking out the window.

He moves closer until he is standing on the edge of the step that leads into the living area. He wants to come closer but feels this is the limit.

He then takes a deep breath in preparation.

"When I found out that you were still alive after you were shot in the woods outside Manticore, I promised myself that I would not let the chance slip me by…. Life is too short…" a pause of silence and then a deep breath.

Max has stopped looking out the window and she is now looking at the floor where she has turned her head to the side. She has a very distinct feeling that Lydecker is going to be very honest about some things.

"I can understand if you want nothing to do with me…." He takes a deep breath as he gestures with his hand even though Max can't see it.

"I can understand if you don't want me in your life and if … that is what you want… I will drop you off at the city limits when you're up to it and I will drive off and you will never see or hear of me ever again." His voice starts to break towards the end but he keeps it sturdy.

"But if … if you can find it… in your heart to forgive me.. even just a little."

Lydecker's tone goes into a whisper as he places his finger tips on his chest, gesturing to himself.

"If you will give me a chance, even just a small chance to …try… and be a .. father…." He says it like he has thought is through but didn't know how is would actually sound in reality. "to you.." He finishes with a whisper.

As Max slowly starts turning around, Lydecker waits to see how she is going to respond but she doesn't make eye contact with him. She then starts moving and to Lydecker it looks like she's just going to walk past him and not even acknowledge him, so he straightens himself and squares his shoulders as he takes a deep breath and prepares himself for the sting of rejection, to take it like a soldier, and maybe re-visit alcoholism for a week or few.

But then Max comes to a stop in front of him and her arms start to lift. And in that moment Lydecker thinks to himself _that's it, I die this day at the hands of one of my kids._ But then to his surprise, Max places her arms around him in a cautious hug.

Lydecker is completely taken by surprise as he lifts his hands but he's not sure if he can hug her back, he doesn't want to scare her off but then again, she's the one hugging him. And with that Lydecker softly puts his one arm around Max and his other hand behind her head as he pulls her to himself and then tucks her head underneath his chin.

For a moment Lydecker wonders to himself if this is really happening.

A moment later the thought strikes him.

He is holding his little girl. He is holding his little girl for the first time in her entire 22 year life.

He remembers the night when she was born….he was there where the babies were placed in cots after birth. And he remembers looking through the observation window at Max. And he so badly wanted to hold her. Hold his baby girl but he couldn't. It would've raised some serious red flags. So, he had to keep his distance. And it was at that moment that he knew that it was going to be a lot harder than he thought. He was going to have to distance himself from Max not only physically but mentally also.

And now, 22 years later, here he is and he is holding her. And at that thought Lydecker envelopes Max in one big bear hug and she responds by tightening her hold also. If he died at this moment, he would die the happiest man on this planet.

Max didn't have words, she couldn't think of anything to say, so she decided to demonstrate it. Actions does speak louder than words. She was however worried about how he would respond to her hug. It was out of line, out of nowhere but she felt like doing it. And no one tells her what she can and cannot do, do she did it. And relief flooded her when he hugged her back, not just a hug but a real hug. She's never been hugged like this before, not by Logan, not by Zack, by no one. Is this what a fatherly hug feels like? She doesn't know but she likes it, she feels….safe…. accepted….loved.

* * *

"Right, food is served, let's dig in." Syl announces that she has arrived with the pizzas and they all gather around the dining room table in Logan's penthouse that have become more like the headquarters rather than his own private house.

So everyone gathers around the table, Logan, Krit, Syl, Brin and Alec.

Alec survived but he was really in bad shape but after a few days he started to recover. Although he's still not in tip top shape, he just wanted to get away from the doctors. He doesn't like doctors of any kind.

"Did you start this party without me?"

Instantly everyone's heads turn towards the door where Max is standing.

"Max, you're back!" Syl is about to move to hug her when Max sees Brin.

"Brin?" Confusion is clearly written all over Max's face.

"Hi Max." She softly says and smiles in a way that apologizes for everything that she has done wrong. Not that it was her fault, she was reprogrammed by Manticore.

Without another thought Max throws her arms around Brin.

"I've missed you so much."

The rest of the night was spend catching up with one another and then talking about everything that happened at Terminal City and to Max's surprise and relief, no one blamed her for it.

It is confirmed it was the pathogen that White and his agents got from that scientist, only their own scientists tweaked it a bit. It was confirmed that only 13 besides herself survived and strange enough the normal looking ones that can blend in like her and Alec. But everyone else is dead including… Joshua. That broke her heart, he really grew on her.

Apparently what happened was that those that were found alive was taken into holding vans but then Logan's friend in the police stopped them just in time but because Max is the real one they were after, as soon as they had her in custody, they left with her. And then she ended up somewhere locked up and that's where Lydecker found her – came for her.

Of course no one has mentioned anything about Lydecker and she really hopes it'll stay that way. She really doesn't want to discuss him with them and most certainly not what had develop between them the three weeks she was with him. They won't understand. They won't accept it.

But knowing Alec, he's probably going to say something at any moment, that's if he knows. But the whole night goes by and nothing comes out of his mouth, so she assumes that he doesn't know. Maybe Logan didn't tell anyone that she has been with Lydecker this whole time and only he knows. She can live with that.

Everyone stayed up that night, just talking and mourning for their fallen brothers and sisters but yet celebrating that they have made it and they are together.


	4. Chapter 4 Seizures

It has now been almost 2 weeks since Lydecker dropped Max off around the block from where Logan's penthouse is, where Max had shown up and found Syl, Krit, Alec and Brin.

Things are now much more clear between Lydecker and Max, now that they have spoken and know where they stand with one another.

Now Lydecker finds that Max is on his mind all the time. Like when Max ran away when they were 9. He was always wondering where she was, was she sleeping in a dry place, did she have something warm to wear, did she have enough to eat and the list went on. At least at Manticore he could make sure she had those things, but out there he couldn't. And those thoughts were on his mind all those years he was trying to find his _kids…_ find Max… find his _daughter._

But then after that night she almost ripped his head off after telling her the truth, he has purposefully tried to push Max out of his mind and thoughts. There was no more going back, he thought. Max had clearly rejected him.

And then after Max _died_ in the woods outside of Manticore, Lydecker had deep regret that he didn't try harder, that he didn't try to explain it better and sooner. And of course, he then went back to binge drinking, he started spiraling down that path again.

But then he found out that she was alive and he tried to get closer to her through Cale but then he realized that he may just be setting himself up for rejection and hurt.

Max was the last thing that held the hope of light in his heart. The hope of still having family, that he isn't completely alone and without purpose. But then when he realized that Max probably doesn't want to see him ever again and doesn't want him to be part of her life, he lost that sense of purpose.

He had to find something else, other than drinking, to give him purpose and to keep him moving. So he made it his objective to get to the bottom of the Manticore mystery and then to _resolve it_ , whatever course of action the situation may require.

But now things have changed. He got a second chance, he got to explain the situation to Max but not just that, she is the one who initiated it. And then Max responded in a way that he never thought that Max would, she hugged him. She used no words but her actions clearly conveyed her thoughts that she has forgiven him, even if just a little and she is willing to give him a chance to try and be a father to her.

She accepted him…..

And that had relighted that flame of light in his heart.

Lydecker takes a quick glance at his watch as it is late in the night as he's driving back to his house. He was out to get some supplies and so on.

He pulls into the garage and enters by the door and as he is on his way to his office, he spots Max's jacket on the couch in the living room. That wasn't there before.

"Max?" Lydecker calls.

He goes silent waiting to hear something and then he hears a faint "I'm here." Down the hall.

He makes his way into that direction and finds Max sitting on the bathroom floor, bare feet and shaking. A seizure.

"There was no one home, I may have broken a window." She looks up at him with weak eyes and a smile as she continues to shake.

"You better get off the cold floor." Lydecker tells her as he moves towards her.

"But cold is good. It helps." She's been having these seizures for years now, she knows. The cold floor is the first place she goes with her bare feet, like now.

"It may feel like it's helping but the cold makes the seizure last longer." After having studied these seizures in the x series for years after they ran away, they have come up with ways to treat it and know what makes is better or worse.

"Oh, I never knew that." If only she discovered that years ago.

"Come" Lydecker holds out his hand to her. "Can you get up?"

Max just cringes as she takes his hand and tries to push herself up but her muscles are weak and she starts slipping back down and for a moment it seemed like Lydecker was going down with her but only for him to slip his arm under her legs and picking her up. A feeling of familiarity washes over her as her head rests on his shoulder as he carries her into the living room and places her on the couch.

Lydecker can feel how her body is shaking, her muscles is probably aching rather bad by now, and sleep will not come easy.

"I'll be right back." He then disappears somewhere but not too long after he comes back with a blanket and throws it over her.

"You have to stay warm, you have to sweat it out. It'll pass quicker."

Max just nods as she continues to shake.

Lydecker again disappears and she can hear him in the kitchen busy with something and then he returns with a mug in his hand. Probably heated milk, _nothing as the good old remedies._

"Here, drink this." Lydecker hands her the cup after he helps her into a sitting position.

"Hot chocolate." Max takes a sips and savors the sweet taste.

"It covers up the taste." Max can tell that something else has been mixed in but now that she knows where she stands with Lydecker, she'll drink anything he gives her, no suspicions.

Max eventually empties the cup through all the shakes she's got and lies back down and Lydecker then pulls the blanket over her and _kind of_ tucks her in.

Lydecker then turns and moves away and Max feels like telling him to stay with her, but just because they have a better understanding doesn't mean that she has to be a baby now. So, Max closes her eyes as she just let's her body shake.

A shadow moving over her draws her attention and she opens her eyes to find Lydecker has brought a chair closer and is sitting right next to her. She closes her eyes again. _He didn't leave after all._

Something warm on her forehead causes her to slip her eyes open momentarily and finds that Lydecker has placed his hand on her forehead. She closes her eyes trying to concentrate on the warmth of his touch more than the constant shaking.

"It's alright, I'm here." Lydecker assures her as he moves his hand over her hair and gently strokes her forehead with his thumb. "I'm not going anywhere."

Max fights the urge to smile but a small curve finds its way onto her lips.

For the next few hours, consciousness comes and goes and Max is sure that this feels like some kind of sedation. But she's not worried. She trusts Lydecker now and she feels safe with him watching over her.

Her muscles are feeling far more relaxed and the shakes of the seizure has slowly started to fade. A lot quicker than what they normally do, eventually.

The whole time Lydecker didn't leave. He didn't leave her. He didn't leave her side. He was there the whole time, gently stroking his hand over her forehead….. and Max realizes that she loved every moment of it.

She absolutely loves the attention and the affection that she receives from him. Affection that she has always craved. From her _brothers and sisters_ but was denied that, mostly by Zack. From Logan but she kept her distance. From OC and her friends but they don't know who or what she was. Well OC did find out eventually but she doesn't know her, not like Lydecker. Nobody can give her the affection that she gets from him….fatherly affection. Him, who she has always seen as the person who made her life hell and will do so again if given the chance. But things are different now. Things are different between them now.

But….

What will Logan think? … what will Syl or Krit think?...

What would Zack think if he knew?... what would Joshua of thought?...

Things may be different between her and Lydecker but they won't see it as such. They all would like to kill him any chance they get. Even Krit and Syl. She had to play her cards right when she brought Lydecker to the warehouse that night. They just wanted to kill him at every turn but she used the story of taking down Manticore to keep them at bay and civilized towards Lydecker, and she's glad that she did. Not that she knew at that moment that any of this would transpire in the future but she felt….. like…she felt protective of him….like that moment at the genetics conference….. Maybe it is because he had a soft spot for her back at Manticore when they were kids…?

But there's no way that the others will be accepting of him. Not even Logan. That's exactly why she has to keep him as a separate, secret part of her life.

Max opens her eyes, she didn't even realize that she had drifted away into sleep. She hazily looks around with half lidded eyes. Lydecker is nowhere to be seen but the chair is still there. She can hear birds chirping outside and she can see the early morning sun faintly flooding through the window. Morning has never come this quickly when she always had seizures, it was always a long drawn out torturous night… she'll have to ask Lydecker what was in that hot chocolate.

With a weak body, Max maneuvers into a sitting position. There's definitely something of a sedative in whatever it was that Lydecker gave her. She can feel it, that feeling of a heavy blanket lying of her.

"You're awake."

Max didn't even hear Lydecker until he was in the room. Usually that would freak her out, she always hear someone coming. But it's Lydecker, so it's nothing to be worried about.

He takes a seat on the chair in front of Max and hands her a cup of coffee. Max takes the cup and starts sipping away. It's just normal coffee, nothing mixed in.

"How are you feeling?" Lydecker asks as he keeps a close eye on her.

"Much better than what I usually feel the day after a seizure." Max gives a matter a fact tone.

"Any pain, headaches, muscle aches, anything like that?" Lydecker starts questioning.

Max just shakes her head.

"You feel like throwing up? Feel dizzy or like passing out?" The questions continue as Max just lightly shakes her head.

Max had her eyes closed enjoying the coffee when Lydecker's hands was suddenly on her face and she tries to pull away as she frowns. _What is he doing?_ Lydecker then slightly pulls her eyelids down and looks into her eyes.

"Your eyes aren't blood shot. That's a good sign." Lydecker confirms as if something has passed his test and then he sits back in his chair and watches Max.

"I feel like I have been sedated." Max just gets to the point before he continues on. "Only slightly."

"But you can move." Lydecker confirms as a fact as Max is sitting up by herself and holding a cup with no problem.

"You've reacted quite well. The other x series showed signs of pain, throwing up, bleeding from their eyes, paralysis… and so on."

Max frowns as she looks up at him. "From what?"

"The concoction that I gave you last night. It has ingredients in it that Manticore used for treatments for the seizures."

With a fixed look Max watches him. "So, you gave me something not knowing how I would react to it?" Max carefully offers.

"How else would we know if it works, if we do not experiment?" Lydecker opens his hands as emphasis. There a bit of the real Lydecker had shown himself.

Max just continues to look at him and it has slightly turned to a glare.

"Nothing to worry about. I do have your last blood essay from Manticore. I did use that as a guideline. I knew for sure it wasn't going to kill you." Was that some sarcasm tacked on or is that just plain seriousness?

Max looks away as she continues to drink her coffee.

"I mean you no harm Max." He slightly tilts his head as he watches her.

"I know." Her eyes slipping closed as she drinks from the cup.

"Can I feel your temperature?" Lydecker decides to rather ask and get permission. He doesn't want to push it.

Max momentarily opens her eyes and kind of looks over to him and closes her eyes again.

He takes that as a yes as he leans closer and puts his hand on her forehead. His hand lingers a moment longer before he removes his hand and gets up.

"Temperature's normal." He then turns and heads for the doorway.

"Thanks." Max offers with a slight smile.

Lydecker responds with a small smile of his own. "Get some more rest. You don't have anywhere to be do you?"

"Normal is going to give me a chewing out." Max's gives a lazy smile.

"Ah yes, the boss that you dance circles around." Lydecker turns around and gives a tone that clearly says, _that won't happen on my watch._

After a moment that Max continues to smile as she thinks of it, she places her empty cup down on the side table and lies down.  
"I think I'm going to get some rest."

Lydecker walks over and as he takes the cup he lets his other hand gently stoke over her forehead and he catches himself just before he bends down and gives her a kiss on the forehead.

As he walks down the hallway, he sighs a quiet relief to himself. He doesn't want to startle her… doesn't want to scare her off. He better keep himself in line… like he did all those years at Manticore. When he wanted to reach out and touch, to hug, to help, to comfort his little girl.

But now it's different, he can now. Manticore is no longer in the picture but he's been looking at her as his daughter for the last 22 years, he is used to the idea but Max is only getting use to the idea now. He better watch himself that he doesn't come on too strong.

When Max wakes up again, her eyes spring open. She's awake and aware and she's sharp. Her mind doesn't feel foggy, everything's clear.

She moves to sit up and finds that she's perfectly fine. _Wow,_ that is one magic formula that she has to get her hands on.

Max stands up and folds the blanket that was lying over her. She then places it on the couch and puts on her shoes that was placed neatly next to the couch. Lydecker is such a perfectionist… she has noticed with somethings.

She then goes across the hall to where Lydecker's office is and finds him sitting at his desk with the computer on, that's always on, and he is sitting with his head resting in his hand.

Max watches him for some time. He doesn't move and Max starts wondering if he's asleep. Max even wonders if he does sleep at all, she has never seen it.

Going to the kitchen, Max fills the kettle and starts boiling it while taking out two cups. One for her, one for Lydecker. When she returns to the office, Lydecker is now sitting up with his chin resting in his hand and he now has his glasses on. Maybe he was sleeping.

"Here." Max places a cup of coffee on the desk next to Lydecker and starts sipping her own as she goes to lean against the table behind Lydecker.

"Thanks." He picks it up and starts drinking.

"What are you busy with?" He is always busy with something, maybe she's just trying to make conversation.

"I've been watching White." Lydecker punches a few keys.

"And?" Max tries for more than a one sentence answer.

"He's not doing much at the moment."

Maybe he doesn't feel like conversation but then without looking away from the screen he speaks. "So does Cale know where you are?"

"I hope not." Max answers with a slight sarcastic tone. "I really don't like questions."

"Can't run from them forever." Lydecker calmly answers.

"Hmm." Max confirms. "Why? Do you want to come over for dinner?" Max jokes with him.

Lydecker just gives a dismissive snort. Yeah, she didn't think so either.

"How are you feeling?" Lydecker suddenly turns away from his computer as he turns his chair around to face Max.

"I'm feeling much better." Max straightens herself as she says with an impressed tone.

"Come." Lydecker then gets up and exits his office.

Max follows after him. "Where are we going?"

"I'm going to show you how to make it." Lydecker opens a cupboard in the kitchen and takes out two bottles, one big, one small and three tins. "As you are already aware of what the after affects are, be careful where and when you use it."

"Trust me, it's not worse than the actual seizure." Max informs him as she rinses her empty cup and then starts drying it. When she turns back to him, he pushes a small tin towards her. "Half a tea spoon." Then he pushes the next small tin towards her. "One full table spoon." Then he pushes the small bottle forward. "One tea spoon and one and a half spoons." As he pushes the bigger bottle forward. And then lastly he pushes the tin of hot chocolate forward. "As much as you like." He adds with a smile.

"Is any of this stuff safe for other people?" If she's going to take this stuff home, there's always a possibility that OC might find it and mess with it.

"Well if you're talking about people who are not genetically engineered… they will fall into a coma and probably die." Lydecker informs her like it's the most normal thing. "And be careful who you share it with, you don't know how it will react to another genetic make up."

So basically don't share it with anyone.

"Ok." Max nods her head. "I'll leave it in your hands for safe keeping."

Max affirms as she turns for the door. "I gotta blaze. I've been gone awhile, who knows if the world is still standing without me."

Lydecker follows her down the hall to the back door where her bike is parked.

"I guess I'll… see you later." She hesitates as she gets to the door before she opens it. Lydecker catches it immediately. Almost like she wants to say or do something before she leaves but he catches the hint. He reaches out and takes her by the arm, turns her around and then pulls her into a hug. His hand comes up and runs it over the back of her head down her hair as her chin is resting on his shoulder. Max closes her eyes as she savors the moment.

"Stay out of trouble." Lydecker softly says as he lets her go and Max gives one last smile before the door closes behind her.

Lydecker stays standing there, watching the door where she just left and then he smiles as he turns around and goes back to his office.

* * *

Thanks for reading :)

Reviews are welcome, I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5 Zack is Back

It's a few days later since Max was at Lydecker's and currently she is standing in Logan's penthouse. She found it empty with no one there. He probably went somewhere. Syl and Krit is also not there. Since after the Terminal City incident, they came and they kind of have been crashing in Logan's spare bedroom most nights. They are waiting for Logan to get them identity papers before they move on again.

Again. Like always. Leaving her alone. Brin has already disappeared into the night, just like Zack has instructed them all to do. But she doesn't, she stays and that always made Zack unhappy.

Max stops as her eyes falls on Logan's computer. After a while of staring in contemplation, Max sits in the chair and starts typing. She starts pulling up the files that they found on Lydecker that night when they were looking for Brin. Max then sits back and stares at the screen that has the picture of Lydecker and his wife. Both of them smiling. Max studies the woman by whom she was _inspired by_. For a long time Max sits in the silent dark looking at the computer when the front door opens and she hears Logan coming it. She quickly exits and moves away from the computer. She really doesn't want Logan or anyone for that matter to catch her looking at a picture of Lydecker and his wife. Just imagine the questions.

* * *

Two weeks later, there's a knock at the door and when Syl opens the door, she finds a middle age woman at the other side. The woman gives her a look like she's trying to recognize her or something.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Mr. Logan Cale." The woman cautiously asks.

"Who's asking?" Syl gives the tone of 20 questions. They don't get a lot of strangers here in Logan's penthouse.

"Lynda."

Syl was just about to ask 'Lynda who?', when Logan comes up next to her. "Lynda?"

The door then opens wider and Logan looks at the woman and he instantly recognizes her as the woman who picked Max up from the snowy road that night when they escaped. The same woman he made a false ID for by the name of Lynda.

"What can I do for you?" Logan asks as he gives her a cup of coffee. He closed the door to his office but he knows full well that Syl and Krit can hear everything but it was just to make Lynda feel more secure.

She goes on to tell him about how she found a transgenic that was lost and very confused and how she helped him and nursed him back to health. She told of things that Manticore had done to him and how she has reversed the affects and how he's very much himself again like he was before Manticore got their hands on him.

Logan thought to himself that she probably would like him to get this transgenic a false ID also to smuggle him out of the country. And he's just too happy to be helping.

"He wants to see you."

Logan frowns for a moment. Sure he needs to take a photo for the ID, but he can clearly hear in her tone that it has nothing to do with a photo.

She looks at her hands in her lap and then at Logan.

"His name is Zack." The lady states like she knows exactly how Logan is going to react.

Logan just stares at her as his heart starts racing. Manticore reprogrammed him to kill Eyes Only and the last time he saw him, that was exactly what he intended to do. Max had to end up choosing between him and Zack. It's a very touchy subject.

"I managed to undo the programming. He is his old self again….well as much as his old self as is possible." Her tone turns frank and to the point. "He is no longer _programmed_ to kill you. He wanted me to talk to you first, he figured it will be better for me to tell you what is going on rather than for him to show up out of nowhere and you not knowing what has happened in the meantime."

Logan's eyes glances to his door where he knows Syl and Krit are standing and listening. If something does go wrong, at least they are here to help. Surely two transgenics can stop one?

But then again, Zack is more family than he is.

"Where is he?"

Logan is standing in the middle of the living room with Syl and Krit behind the corner that leads to the bed rooms. They decided to first see how things go down before they reveal their presence. Max had told them about what Manticore had done to him. So, they too are careful about this situation.

The door opens as Lynda has returned from fetching Zack from the car where he was waiting. Lynda enters first and gives Logan a look of sorrow and then slowly Zack enters but he stops just behind the closed door. Like he's keeping his distance.

"Hey Logan." Zack looks him in the eye. His face is healed and the flesh is covering the metal and the eye. He looks normal again.

Zack is staring out of the window. Behind him is Syl and Krit sitting at the table with cups of coffee. Logan is standing off to the side as Zack tells them about all the things that had happened. He personally apologized to Logan with tears in his eyes and practically pledged his life to him for trying to kill him and for looking after Maxie. Zack didn't know how Logan would respond to seeing him again, so he was relieved when Logan didn't hold his Manticore programming against him for trying to kill him.

"Where is Max?" Zack asks as he's watching the rain fall over the dark city. They checked her apartment, or at least where her apartment used to be but no one lives there anymore, she's been missing from Jam Pony for two days, so he decided to come to Logan. The most awkward place really. But here he is, and no Max. But at least Syl and Krit is here. They have a lot of catching up to do.

Syl looks at Krit and then over her shoulder to Logan. The last time Max disappeared with no trace and no one could find her, it came out that she was with Lydecker. No one questioned her and they decided just to leave it at that. But over the past few months she has been disappearing for a few days at a time where no one can reach her and then they all wonder if she is with Lydecker. But why would she be with him? And now that Zack is specifically asking and they are all thinking about it, maybe it is time to have that talk with her.

Zack catches the look they share in the reflection of the window and turns around. He heard about the Terminal City incident but never even considered Max to have been killed there. But now, the reaction he's getting….

"Did Max…?" Zack swallows as he struggles to even ask the question.

Logan sees the immediate pain in his eyes and realizes what he is thinking.

"No, she's fine, she was at Terminal City but she survived." Logan quickly settles his fears and he can clearly see the relief wash over Zack's face.

"Then where is she?" Zack's face immediately turns back to the real Zack look when he is suspicious and very serious about it. Logan knows that look and he isn't going to try and lie to him about it.

Syl lifts her hands in a _'I don't know_ ' way. "Who knows." She's not too sure if telling him about their suspicions of Max being with Lydecker. He might just flip his lid and it kind of feels like he is in a very fragile place at the moment.

Zack turns his head to the side and he pins Logan with that real _'I will beat the truth out of you'_ look. Yep it's definitely the old Zack ok, with some chips and scars but it's the old him alright.

"We think she's with Lydecker." He just says it and gets it over with.

Syl pulls a face at Logan that Zack can't see. What is he doing?

Zack turns around and continues to lean against the window as he stares out at the rain.

Krit and Syl shares a questionable look. Has he forgotten who Lydecker is? Why is he not reacting?

They can see Zack slightly shaking his head to himself.

What is he thinking? What is going through his head? Does he remember?

"You two can't stay here." Everyone looks at Zack as he has his back to them. "We have to keep moving in enemy territory." As serious as ever all of a sudden, like they weren't just having a great time catching up.

"We know that, we're just crashing here for a few days." Krit explains.

"Or has Max convinced you to ignore everything that we have been taught and become relaxed and ready for them just to come and lock you up." Zack turns around. Stern. Syl and Krit almost feels like jumping to attention. Why is he suddenly so cold? So angry? And they have a feeling that it has to do with Max.

The phone ringing breaks the tension. It's the front door letting them know that the pizza delivery is there. "Send them up." Krit and Syl are real suckers for pizza.

Not too long, there's a knock at the door and Logan gladly removes himself from the room to get a break and get the pizza. And as he opens the door, he slightly falters.

There's Max holding the three boxes of pizza. She ran into the delivery guy at the door and offered to bring it up since she was coming up anyway.

She's just about to announce the pizza delivery when Logan signals for her to remain quiet.

"Max." Logan mouths but kind of moves her out into the hallway.

"What's going on?" Max whispers.

Logan leads them down the hallway to talk to her about Zack.

Zack on the other hand has already heard them and knows that Max is here and now waits for the conversation about him to end and for her to come through that door. And not too long the door opens and Max comes in first looking for him with Logan coming in behind her carrying the boxes of pizza and heads for the kitchen.

As soon as Max and Zack makes eye contact they freeze. Max takes a few cautionary steps toward him.

"Zack?" Max is emotional, she'll start crying at any moment. Can it be true? She got her big brother back? The old one? The real one?

"Maxie." Zack breathes out as he moves forward and pulls her into a hug.

* * *

The next day there's a knock at the door again, slightly softer than usual but Logan clearly heard it and as he opens up his door he looks at Brin standing on the other side.

"Heard Zack's back." She has a soft, gentle touch to her voice. Her hair is hanging down again, not neatly braided behind her head like when she was back with Manticore. That cold steely look in her eye is also gone, she now has a warm friendly face, seems a bit shy but she's her old self again. Free from Manitcore's re-programming.

She may have said her goodbyes and then disappeared but she was still hanging around the city and that's why she showed up at Logan's door the moment she found out about Zack.

Logan steps back as he lets her in. "You know, you really don't need to knock. No one else does around here."

She just offers him a smile and Logan gestures for her to go through to the living room where her brothers and sisters are.

They all eventually decided to hang tight at Logan's penthouse as White and his operation has moved away from Seattle chasing down a lead somewhere else. Not that Logan is complaining, too much. With four genetically engineered soldiers crashing as his place, it's practically the safest place in Seattle. Now only to teach them how to cook.

* * *

It has now been two weeks since Brin has returned to Logan's place again.

While looking at Lydecker's file and the photo on Logan's computer Max noted the date when his wife was killed. And it was a month later, and so this is why Max finds herself standing in the door way of Lydecker's office on the day, looking at a passed out Lydecker with his face flat on his desk with an empty whiskey bottle lying next to him and one lying on the floor. Max finds herself wondering if this is how he has spent this day every year for the last 23 years of his wife's death.

Lydecker wakes up from the pounding in his head that is aggravated by the chirping of birds in the early morning hours. He moans as he realizes he's got the mother of all hang overs. Really he should be used to it by now.

He squints as he opens his eyes to block out the light to see where he has passed out, when he sees someone in front of him. He blinks to clear his vision and finds Max sitting on a chair right in front of him.

"Max? Is everything ok?" He questions as he watches her.

"Yeah, everything is fine." She uses a high mocking tone.

"Now you know how it feels like to wake up and realize that someone has silently been watching you." Max says with a smug tone and a smile.

Groaning to himself, Lydecker pushes himself up into a sitting position and finds himself on the couch. He doesn't remember getting there.

"Here." Max holds out her hand and it has two tablets in it and in the other hand a glass of water.

"Thanks." He's slightly embarrassed in his current state. He drinks the tablets and Max takes the empty glass and puts it on the table next to her.

Lydecker brings his hand up and starts messaging his temples. "I feel like crap."

After a moment of watching him, Max moves over and sits down right next to him. "It'll be the last time though."

There's a pause.

"Rest of it all went down the drain." Max confesses what she has done to his booze. Hopefully he doesn't react like an enraged drunkard.

"I thought I heard something last night." Lydecker calmly affirms as if he knows exactly what is going on around him.

"You were passed out." Max flatly states.

"Yeah, that too." Lydecker affirms in a defeated tone. And then he wonders how he got onto the couch.

After sitting in silence for a long time with neither of them saying anything, Max shifts and then places her head on his shoulder.

Lydecker slightly turns his head at Max's actions. And then a moment later, he then turns his head all the way and plants a kiss on the crown of her head. Probably the alcohol in his system making him brave.

He then carefully leans his head on top of Max's.

"Thanks Maxie."

About an hour later Max is busy in the kitchen putting something together to eat while Lydecker is back in his office typing away. She suspiciously wonders to herself that he has recovered way too quickly from that hangover.

With Sketchy always drinking and passing out, she more or less has a gauge of how long a normal person should be down for the count but Lydecker was on his feet far too soon. Like that night in that cheap hotel. He was as drunk as could be but his mind cleared up very quickly once they were on the move. He may have complained that he still felt sick the night after but his mind was as sharp as a twig.

As Max is busy stirring her coffee, she absent mindedly brings her hand up and feels the top of her head where Lydecker gave her a kiss. If felt nice, she liked it, even though it was creepy.

"Did you see I cleared out one of the spare rooms down the hall?" Max quickly drops her hand. How come she doesn't hear him coming?

"No." Max turns to look at Lydecker as he is standing in the kitchen door.

He then gestures with his head for Max and then he walks off into that direction.

Max follows him down the hall and they come to a room with a bed and some furniture.

"So you don't have to sleep on the couch." Lydecker comments.

* * *

About a week later Max is back at Lydecker's house and she is lying on the bed. On the bed that's in a room, her room, in Lydecker's house. It feels strange.

Max is lying awake listening to Lydecker typing away on his computer. He is always awake and busy, the only time that she had seen him asleep was when he was passed out. And maybe that day when she found him in front of his screen leaning with his head in his hand, maybe but not sure. She has now started to wonder if he even sleeps.

She listens as she can hear Lydecker going to the kitchen to make coffee. She left the door open as the light in the hall is shining into the room. She switched it on specifically for this reason.

The room goes dark as Lydecker switches the light off in the hall as he returns to his office. Max instantly freezes up. _Why did he have to put the light off?_

After a long while lying in the dark, Max starts missing the couch. At least the couch was in the living room that is across the hall from Lydecker's office, so there was always a ray of light.

Max sits up in the bed and then she softly gets on her feet and makes her way back to _her_ couch. She's acquainted with it and she likes it there.

"And now?" Not too long Lydecker appears in the doorway.

Isn't there anything that he misses?

"I like the couch." Max answers without looking at him as she is lying on the couch with her back to the door way.

"You don't like the room?" Lydecker is looking for an answer, clearly he is not going away.

"It's too dark." Max just gives him the answer because he probably won't stop.

There's a short silence as Lydecker thinks.

"You're afraid of the dark?" Lydecker offers with a confused tone.

"No, I'm not afraid of the dark. I just don't want to sleep in it." There's no way she's going to admit to Lydecker that she's afraid to sleep in the dark.

"Why?" Lydecker's tone is curious.

Max turns over and stares at the ceiling, thinking of how to answer.

"You've got genetically engineered eyesight, hearing and instinct." Lydecker states in a matter-of-fact tone.

"When I wake up in the dark, I panic. Ok." Max states like that's just how things are and he must move along.

And move he did, towards her. "Come."

Max looks up at him.

"I'm going to teach you how to sleep in the dark." Lydecker comes to stand next to Max waiting for her to get up.

Max sits up on the couch. "I can't…." Max was about to tell him how she has had this for years when he reaches down, takes her by the arm and pulls her up. He then starts directing her to _her_ room.

Light floods the room as Lydecker switches the light on as they enter.

"Alright, look around and memorize this room." Lydecker says as he is standing next to her. "Door, window, bed, furniture." His tone switches to instruction mode.

You know she was trying to get some sleep and now she's getting a drill? Max just looks at Lydecker like _really?_ Lydecker just returns the look like _right now._

Looking around the room, Max mentally notes where everything is. And as Max lies down, Lydecker turns the light off and everything goes pitch dark. She then listens as Lydecker takes a seat on the chair in the corner to her left.

She can feel herself cringe without even trying. She uses her special eye ability to look into the darkness and she can make out the shape of things. She can see Lydecker's form in the chair also. But the problem is that when she wakes up, she can't focus. Her blood rushes through her veins and she can't seem to concentrate. It's not sleeping in the dark that's her problem, it is waking up in the dark.

She would sometimes jerk awake after dreaming about Manticore, or about the escape or how Lydecker and his men has caught up with her and when she jumps up, she expects them to be in the room and when the room is pitch dark and she can't immediately set her mind at ease that they are not there, she goes into a flat out panic.

And now, funny enough, Lydecker is in the dark, in her room….how things have changed. Max wonders for a moment about this. If anyone would've told her that things with her and Lydecker would be what it is this day, 10 years ago, she may have had to of stabbed them.

The next thing Max knows she wakes up and she's surrounded by darkness. Where is she? What is going on? She starts panicking. Her blood starts pumping and pounding in her ears. She can't listen for anything like this.

"Lydecker?" There's a tinge of panic evident in her voice.

"I'm here." Lydecker calmly answers.

"Where?" Max is completely disorientated just like she knew she would be.

"You can hear where I am." Lydecker calmly states.

"My heart is pounding in my ears." Max tries to defend herself. "Please turn the light on."

"No." The answer comes cold and final.

For a moment Max wonders when did the old Lydecker come back? Should she jump up?

Her thoughts are interrupted when she feels the bed dip behind her as Lydecker sits down on the bed. She then feels as he leans over her and balances himself on his other hand in front of her. He then places his hand gently on her forehead and as he softly strokes his hand over her head, he rests his fingers on the pulse point of her temple.

She isn't exaggerating, her heart is going at a hundred miles an hour.

He then softly starts stroking his thumb over her forehead.

"It's alright, I'm here." Lydecker softly comforts her.

Max tries to recall how many times he had said that to her. _It's alright, I'm here._

"Actually, that was mostly the reason why I always went into a panic." Max breaks the silence after a while.

Lydecker gets that she's referring to him catching her as he was _hunting_ for her all those years. "Sorry about that." His voice turns soft. "I had to make it look convincing." Lydecker tries to justify his actions. "And there really was no other way of getting you back to Manticore." _But by force…_

Max scoffs. "I wasn't going back there."

The hand that was stroking her forehead stops.

Max wonders if he has a problem with that, she thought this thing was sorted out.

"I'm glad." Lydecker whispers.

And then he continues to gently stroke her forehead.

The next time Max wakes up there's a hint of light coming through the window as the sun is rising. She can hear the birds that signals the break of dawn.

Max's eyes shifts through the room as she recalls last night. She then turns over and finds Lydecker sitting in the chair with his head resting in his hand and his eyes closed. He doesn't particularly look peaceful, not like when he did when he was passed out. She wonders if he's asleep.

"Lydecker." Max tests as she whispers.

No reaction. He's probably asleep. Count this down as maybe nr 3.

Max watches him as she continues to lie on the bed. She thinks back to when he used to march up and down, giving drills, handing down orders, instructing them as kids. She remembers the tone in his voice. He used to do it with passion and drive.

She heard that death and fighting in war has an impact on a person and she wonders if all his involvement and experience with the army has shaped him into what he is now. She recalls when they were at that genetics conference. How he spoke about survival. It was like his idea of life is _fight or die_. No gray areas.

But after these last couple of months that Max has spent with Lydecker in the context of _father and daughter_ , she can tell that he definitely knows what love and care is. He isn't just all cold, demanding and heartless like they know him from Manticore. He actually has a very caring heart. Well, towards her anyway.

Max scoffs mentally, the others won't believe a word of it. They will probably be convinced that he has brain-washed her, _re-indoctrinated, reprogrammed_ her somehow. She can already hear Zack's voice going on and on.

* * *

The woman that helped Max the night she escaped from Manticore as a kid appears in season 1 ep 2 'Heat'.

Logan found Lydecker's files and the photo of him and his wife in season 1 ep 7 'Cold Comfort'.

After Zack shot himself to save Max, he reappears in season 2 ep 7 'Some Assembly Required' with cybernetic implants.

Thanks for reading :)

Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6 Favored

"And how are you doing baby sister?" Zack asks Brin as he leans in the door frame of Logan's kitchen where Brin is busy eating toast.

"I'm alright." Brin smiles.

Brin can see the regret in Zack's eyes as he stares at the floor.

"It's ok you know. It was my choice to go back." Brin recalls that night in the SUV. She was going to die and she didn't want to. She's rather let Lydecker take her back to Manticore than to die. Clearly the opposite of what Zack would've done.

"Was it bad?" Zack's voice goes softer.

"Not as bad as I expected it to be." Brin softly answers. "I was expecting to be tortured for our betrayal and running away."

Brin catches Zack looking at her. She can see the sorrow in his eyes.

"You did the right thing by not reuniting us with each other but rather keeping the locations of everybody secret." Brin informs Zack. "At psy-ops they did ask about the other's locations and since I didn't know, I couldn't tell them anything."

"Lydecker hurt you." Zack states as a fact.

Zack watches Brin with surprise as she shakes her head. "Not really, well not him personally. Only saw him once and that is when he came to ask me about your locations, yours, Max… but I truly didn't know anything. I didn't see him again until after …I was reprogrammed." Brin slowly recounts what happened.

"How…." Zack was about to ask how it was, what happened that turned her into the Manticore _mascot_ that she was the next time they saw her but then decides it's probably the last thing she wants to talk about.

"I was already mentally broken down by that sickness. I didn't put up much of a fight." Brin looks down ashamed of her failure. "The next thing I knew, I was happy to be _home._ " Brin frowns to herself.

"Lydecker tortured me." Zack plainly states. "With high doses of psychoactives, day in and day out, all day long." Zack looks off into a distance as he recalls. _He knows where the X5's are, he's got it locked in his brain but I'm going to get it out._ Lydecker's voice echoes through his memories. And when psy-ops didn't work, Lydecker used a very under-handed way to get the information out of him.

"He knew that I knew where everybody else was." Zack takes a deep breath and looks to Brin. "I didn't tell him anything."

Brin remembers from before they broke out, that resisting psy-ops is a very painful thing. And when she was in that chair, she just didn't have the strength to resist. She was weak.

She looks to the floor and Zack can see the shame in her eyes.

Stepping over to her, Zack places a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok. I understand." His tone is soft.

A soft smile appears on her face as she glances up at Zack but drops her eyes back to the floor.

"Hey." Max announces as she walks into Logan's kitchen and finds them there.

"Max." Brin smiles happy to see her.

"Where have you been?" Zack asks as he was at Jam Pony but apparently she hasn't been in since the day before.

"I have a life Zack." Max gives in a dismissive tone. She's not explaining everything she's up to to him. Most certainly not how she has been spending time with Lydecker, not about how _close_ they have become and certainly not that she's got a room in his house.

Zack just gives her a silent suspicious look.

"So what's for dinner?" Max asks.

* * *

That night back at her apartment that she shares with OC, Max lies in bed staring at the bed lamp next to her. She's always slept with it on for obvious reasons. And if it broke, she would go get it fixed or get another one no matter what she had to do.

She thinks back to Lydecker sitting with her, _teaching her to sleep in the dark._ Clearly he didn't like the idea of her being _afraid_ of the dark. He didn't express any disappointment he had about it but he sure did move quickly to make sure it gets addressed. Just like he taught them back at Manticore, the moment there's a problem you address it. You don't wait.

Max leans over and hesitates before she clicks the light off. A moment later she switches the light back on, looks around the room that she really should have imprinted into her memory by now and then she switches the light off again. She places her head on the pillow and closes her eyes.

She then imagines Lydecker sitting in the chair in the corner.

When she opens her eyes in the dark, for a moment she feels like he's there. Just like some nights during those years, she would feel he is there, that he and his men had found her and then she would go into panic. But now she feels he is there and she now feels safe.

Strange how the situation changes with perspective.

* * *

About two weeks later Max and Lydecker is in the kitchen in his house.

"You are an undisciplined brat." Lydecker says flatly as he turns to leave the room but then stops in his tracks as he realizes that he could've said that with a lot less venom in his voice.

Max just freezes up, she doesn't have a witty come back. Those words and tone of disapproval has cut deeper than what she would like to admit. How can it hurt so much? She has always prided herself on being her own rebellious person.

She and Lydecker was busy discussing Zack and his over-protective controlling behavior and she was complaining how Zack always has to force things. She complained about how Zack would treat her like a child. And after Lydecker expressed that he can understand why Zack reacts the way he does, they started arguing.

Lydecker turns around and walks up to Max and comes to stand in front of her but she doesn't lift her head. She's afraid that she'll have a look of shame on her face and he might have a stern look of disapproval on his.

He lifts his hand and then runs his finger underneath Max's chin as he lifts her face to look at him. They make eye contact, his expression soft.

"But you're my undisciplined brat." He uses a soft tone, a major turn-around from the one he just used a moment ago as the look on his face is one of acceptance.

He then places his arms around her as he pulls her into a hug. He is sorry for saying it in a hurtful manner but he's not sorry for what he said because it's true. And there is only one person in the world he would let slip on it and that's Max. And he lets her know that.

All of a sudden the pain that Max felt stab her heart disappears. _So this is what it feels like to be loved unconditionally? Whether you get it right or wrong?_

Max wraps her arms around him in return and places her head on his shoulder as he moves his fingers through her hair.

Lydecker feels relieved as Max accepts the apology. He is sorry for falling back into his stern ways so easily, after all that is who he is. He is used to barking orders and everybody jumps to them. Nobody gets to fight or argue with him. The last person who did that is dead now, Renfro had it coming one way or another.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." After a moment Lydecker decides that he almost didn't have Max in his life, so he doesn't want to lose her by him giving her his attitude.

" _Don I love you and you can take that attitude to work with you but you do not give me that attitude."_ Lydecker remembers his wife telling him that one day.

He closes his eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispers one more time.

"Ok, ok, stop apologizing before I start wondering what you did with the real Lydecker." Max responds.

When Lydecker hugged her she accepted the apology. When Lydecker actually used words she realized he is truly sorry. But when he apologized for the third time, things were getting out of hand.

* * *

A few days after that Logan is busy in the kitchen cooking. As he seems to have become the personal chef to the group of transgenics living in his house. At least he loves cooking or else he would've complained by now.

He listens to them talking in the living room. Zack, Brin, Krit, Syl and Alec. Alec was badly sick after being caught in the Terminal City incident. But the doctor they got nursed him back to health at an undisclosed location where no one would suspect anything. Max had gone a few times to check in as she clearly recovered much faster from it.

Alec is now trying to find his space in this little group of runaways. He maybe has some connection with Brin as she was at Manticore recently but other than that it may take some getting used to. Zack of course has already put him in his place and made him understand where his place in command is, and it's at the bottom as far as Zack is concerned.

There's a knock at the door and as Logan makes his way to the door he is actually expecting another one of the _family_ members of the X5's as they all seem to be flogging to his house but when he opens the door he finds a bouncing brown haired girl.

"Hey Logan." OC has a big smile on her face. It's not that much that she comes around.

Logan lets her in and gestures to the living room that now seems to have become the communal socializing area.

"Hi OC." Syl greets OC happily as she sees her.

"I heard the family has gathered and I just had to come say hi." OC explains with much excitement.

"Ok well this is Brin." Syl starts to introduce her. Syl and Krit has already met OC, so they are already acquainted. "And this is Zack." Not knowing that she already knows Zack.

OC gives Zack a light slap on the arm. "Hey you." She uses a slightly unimpressed tone. "I heard you were back, I'm glad." OC lightens up and smiles. And as she moves away from him, she throws him a look. "And Normal will hold that grudge to the grave." Normal wasn't happy with the way things turned out with his 'golden boy'.

OC then turns and pins a glare on Alec. "And you." OC points her finger at him as she pulls a face like she's about the read him his rights. "I'm glad that you're better but I'm getting tired of covering for your ass." Normal has been ranting and raving and accusing Max of infecting Alec with her sporadic absent behavior.

"Where is Max by the way?" Alec asks trying to shift the attention as he nonchalantly bites into an apple.

"She ain't here?" OC asks. She's didn't see her last night and she didn't pitch for work this morning either. Not like that's abnormal for Max.

"Nope." Syl answers.

"She's probably with Don." OC confidently states like it's a normal thing for Max to be with _Don._

 _'Don?' How long has this been going on?_ They think to themselves.

Max has been getting calls at work from time to time from a man named Don and when OC asked her who it was, she said it's a good friend of hers. If he's such a good friend, then surely Logan knows him.

"Who's Don?" Alec asks. Who is this guy, why is Max hanging out with someone he is not aware of? He's always sticking his nose in other people's business, only because he's looking to cause trouble.

Zack breathes in a deep breath, like when you count to 10 before you start breaking things. "Donald." There is definitely contempt in that tone.

"Donald who?" Krit asks with a frown.

Brin just watches the situation in silence. The only Donald she knows is Donald Lydecker. And she'd rather avoid the situation.

"Donald Lydecker." Everyone turns around and finds Logan standing in the doorway as he announces the name the person of their nightmares.

"Wait." Alec gets up from where he was sitting. "Did you just say Lydecker? As in Manticore Lydecker?" He is clearly disturbed by the unfolding of events.

Oh yes, Alec is not informed about what had happened with Lydecker on the outside. Now how to explain this. Logan turns around and leaves, he'll leave the explaining to someone else.

Logan went back to working on his computer not really caring to hear how they explain the whole Lydecker thing to Alec. He could hear their voices but not much of what was being said. It's complicated and his life has enough complications as is.

He didn't even notice the time going by until he started feeling a craving for coffee. Night has already fallen. Logan leaves his office and avoids the living room and then not too long, he returns with a cup of coffee, closes the door and sits back down by his computer.

"I've always suspected something."

Logan freezes up as he is startled, at least he didn't spill his coffee. He turns to see Zack has taken up a leaning position in the dark corner looking out the window.

"About what?" With Zack one could never guess, he was suspicious of absolutely everything and everyone.

"About Lydecker" He takes a breath. "And Max."

He now has Logan's attention. This is one of the things that he has been wondering about for quite some time now.

"Ever since we were kids, I've always noticed…things." Zack doesn't move from his position.

Logan puts his coffee down but doesn't say anything, he just waits for Zack to continue.

"Lydecker was always watching Max." Zack gives a slight shake of his head as he pauses.

"Max always had his attention and when I starting realizing this, I started to specifically pay attention to it. He used to watch Max about 70% more than what he ever watched the rest of us." Zack had always been a calculating numbers guy.

"When…" Zack stops for a moment and pushes himself away from the window. "Whenever anyone of us was in the infirmary, I always used to sneak out and go see if they were ok. And they were always left alone in the infirmary with needles stuck into them… shivering in the cold." The images flashes through his mind.

He then slightly turns but still doesn't look at Logan. He brings his finger up to emphasize. "Not Max." A pause. "Never Maxie."

"Whenever I went to check on her, she was never alone." Zack drops his hand. "Lydecker was always with her, sitting next to her most of the time." A pause again. "With a blanket thrown over her." He gestures with his hands. "None of us ever got a blanket." He speaks almost like he is separating Max from the rest of them.

"She was favored." Zack says in a low tone.

Then there's silence.

Zack then turns to Logan. "That's probably why Max is so soft when it comes to Lydecker… so _accepting_ of him." His face clearly unhappy.

Zack has thought about that night many times. That night when they grabbed Lydecker after his AA meeting and had him tied to a chair. He wanted to send Max to go talk to Logan, so that he can be alone with Lydecker and have his payback but Max said she wanted to stay because, _I'm afraid something tragic might happen_ , sure she was being sarcastic but he clearly got the message that she didn't want anything to happen to him. She was protecting him, whether she realized it or not. And then when he came back he heard some of the conversation… the way that he said _come home_ to Max _._ He still remembers Lydecker's voice echoing in his mind.

' _You know you don't have to, you can always come home.'_ He took a very different tone there with Max…like a father would plead with their run away child. And then the next moment Max pulls off his blindfold revealing how they look and then trusts him and follows him into an army base that is crawling with soldiers.

After a long silence Logan speaks. "So, I have noticed myself." He carefully adds.

He has been thinking about Lydecker and Max. He has also thought about when Max was at the genetics conference. When she told him afterwards that she saved Lydecker's life. That was unexpected. He was sure that Max is supposed to hate him with a passion. And then she told him that she doesn't know why she just couldn't let him die. She said that he's the only one who can tell her if her barcode has an _expiry_ date but at the time not even Logan bought that excuse.

Zack watches Logan and then his eyes shifts to the closed door as he moves. To Logan it looks like he's leaving, clearly the conversation is over but then Zack just opens the door and stands there.

"And what about you?" Zack asks.

For a moment Logan thinks that Zack is talking to him when the door opens wider and Brin steps in. She's been listening in?

"You have been very quiet concerning Lydecker." Zack states as he closes the door and moves back to the window. Whenever Lydecker is mentioned, Brin is silent. She's naturally a very quiet person but she's completely silent when it comes to Lydecker.

Brin sighs as she folds her arms and leans against a table to the left of the door.

"Because from what I know…" Know, not wonder.

"There is definitely something going on…." She moves her eyes from the floor to Zack. "…concerning Lydecker and Max."

She didn't want to say anything. Things can get really awkward and putting Lydecker into any situation or conversation with the other X5's makes the situation even worse. And now if she had to put their title sister into that context, they'll probably go bonkers.

But it would seem that the cat is out of the bag.

Logan watches her intently. Brin did spent some time at Manticore on the inside. She probably knows of things that none of them do.

Brin takes a breath. She's not sure where to start.

She kind of lifts her shoulders. "In my own way, I would say that Lydecker was obsessed with Max."

She now has both Zack and Logan's undivided attention. _Obsessed…?_

"It sort of started that night when you and Max came and rescued me." Brin looks at Zack.

"In the car, when Lydecker was talking over the radio… when he said, _I'm proud of you…_ it just struck me as an odd thing for Lydecker of all people to say but I didn't spend too much time thinking on it." Brin takes a deep breath. "I kind of had _other_ things to worry about." She's clearly referring to psy-ops and her reprogramming.

"But once I was on the inside, I started seeing some things." She slightly raises her eyes brows as she looks towards the ground.

"Like…there was a set plan if any of us were recaptured and taken back to Manticore, the first thing that had to happen was that we were to be sent to psy-ops for reprogramming. But not Max. Lydecker had even given specific written instructions concerning this for in case he wasn't there if they brought Max in. She was supposed to go to the infirmary." Brin looks up again. "He clearly had other plans concerning Max."

Logan and Zack's eyes are still trained on Brin as she continues.

"But then things started getting strange." Brin slightly turns her head to the side. "It's like Lydecker didn't care what he had to do to get his hands on Max." She frowns at her own statement.

"Now look here, let me tell you, from what I have observed…" Brin uses her hand to emphasize as she looks to Logan. "When it comes to Lydecker's _kids_ …" She doesn't like referring to themselves as such. "Everybody knows that he is 'touchy' about his _kids_ …" Brin takes a breath and then looks to Zack. "But when it came to Max… he wasn't touchy… he became down right aggressive." Brin pulls a face of confusion. She herself doesn't understand it all.

"And when Renfro started getting particularly interested in Max… well, Lydecker didn't like that at all, that's when things started going south, quickly." Brin's expression changes as she lifts her eye brows again.

"He started disobeying direct orders, he sold classified information to the opposition. It was like he would do anything to get to her… he even killed off agent Sandoval… he just started to get out of hand." Brin tells them of the things she knows of.

"His behavior got so out of hand that my specific orders was that anything and everything concerning Max was to be kept as far away from Lydecker as possible. And when Renfro starting giving me those type of orders, I definitely knew that I wasn't imagining things. It was called operation secrecy."

Logan and Zack are listening intently to the things that Brin is telling them. They never knew about this.

"And then… the moment Lydecker had Max… he dropped everything and disappeared." Brin gestures with her hands as she frowns, still not understanding what really went on.

Logan clearly remembers as he himself wondered what Lydecker's plan was when he heard of it.

"The next moment Lydecker had a termination order out on him. And it's almost like they were fighting over Max and he would rather die than to hand her over to Manticore." Still frowning, Brin steps forward. "It all got very weird."

Zack and Logan watches Brin as they take this all in. They never realized that these kind of things was going on concerning Max. If they knew this they wouldn't of let Lydecker anywhere near Max when she brought him to the warehouse that night before the DNA lab bombing and they certainly would not have sent Max alone with him to baby sit him when he had to go see a _friend_.

"That's why I didn't want to say anything. I don't even know what to make of it myself." Brin admits.

Logan runs his tongue down the inside of his cheek as he lets out a _huh,_ and glances at Zack before he looks away.

Zack just has a frozen look on his face that kinds of says, _I knew it, I knew there was something going on._

"And now I hear that Max is hanging around Lydecker. I really don't know what to make of that, at all, so I decided to rather hang back and keep quiet until things become more clear." Brin explains her silence on the subject.

Zack turns his head away. "It's time to have that conversation with Max." He comments more to himself than anything else.

Logan looks to Zack. He was wondering if he should mention that he doesn't think that Lydecker means Max any harm. But then he decided against it, they might turn on him and they are in his house. So he doesn't say anything, nothing about how Lydecker saved his life that night in the woods of Manticore, nothing of how Lydecker checked up on him afterwards to make sure he's ok. Nothing. Taking Brin's course of action to _hang back_ and keep quiet until things are more clear. But he knows that this is one conversation that Max would probably not want to have with anyone as he himself have tried to carefully start a conversation on the subject and kind of fish for something, but Max never bites.

And right at that moment the phone rings.

Logan looks at the number. It looks similar to a burn phone number.

"What?" Zack asks as he can see Logan is hesitating.

"Could be Lydecker." Now was probably the worst time to phone.

"Put it on speaker." Zack commands, no room for negotiating. He is now ready for a fight.

"Hello." Logan puts the phone on speaker and silently hopes that Lydecker doesn't say anything that will set Zack off.

"It's me." Like it's a normal run of the mill call.

Logan looks over to Zack as Lydecker continues. "Is any of my kids there with you?" Logan squirms on the inside, _he just had to say it,_ knowing full well that his _kids_ hates being called that.

Logan doesn't say anything as he waits for Zack to give a queue.

"You should know that I'm always watching." Zack answers, just making sure that Lydecker knows where he stands with him. If it wasn't for Max, he'd be dead already and somehow Zack feels that Lydecker knows it.

"Good because we'll have to move quickly." Lydecker clearly unfazed and ready to start giving out marching orders.

"For what?" Zack steps closer, the retaliation clear in his tone. How dare he just phone out of nowhere and start giving orders?

"It's Tinga." Everybody freezes as Lydecker mentions her name. "She's alive."

"How?" Logan asks.

"I have been monitoring White and his operation. There was a drop in their firewall and my system picked up something about an  
X5 656 being prepped for transport."

"Where?" Zack asks ready to go fight an army for Tinga.

"I have sent you the details." And at that moment a windows pops up on Logan's computer informing him about an email. Logan sighs inwardly, _how did he get that?_

"Where's Max?" Zack suddenly switches to interrogation mode.

"She's already on her way and you perhaps would want to contact _Lynda_ as we don't know in what shape Tinga is in." And then the line goes dead.

Logan freezes, how does he know about the fake identity that he gave as Lynda? The doctor that Lydecker wanted to kill.

Zack looks at Logan. Lynda had told him the whole story.

Brin observes the situation. So Max has been with Lydecker, or at least in contact with him.

Logan opens the email and starts looking at the details.

"Let's all agree that what has been said in this room, stays in this room." Zack tells Logan and Brin before he leaves to go tell Syl and Krit what is going on.

* * *

Zack was being interrogated by Lydecker under the influence of psychoactives in Season 1 ep 13 'The Kidz are Aiight'.

Lydecker is seen sitting with a sick Max as a kid in Season 1 ep 21 'Casserole'

Zack and Max grabbed Lydecker and had him tied to a chair in Season 1 ep 7 'Cold Comfort'.

Max saved Lydecker's life in Season 1 ep 6 'Prodigy'.

Renfro talks about 'operation secrecy' to Brin in Season 1 ep 19 'Hit a Sista Back'.

Thanks for reading :)

Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7 Family & Forgiveness

Zack, Brin, Syl, Krit and Logan are on the top floor over-looking a complex on the other side of the street. This is the location that Lydecker had sent to them and they are currently scoping the place out.

When Zack turns around and he is clearly hearing something, he then walks over to the other side of the room. The top floor of the building is an open plan, so there is a 360 degree view.

"What is it?" Brin asks as she watches Zack.

"It's Max's bike." They then look out of the window and in a distance they can see a black bike with two people on it.

The bike slows down as it gets to the building and Max who is sitting on the back then hops off and disappears in-between the buildings. The other person on the bike continues a bit further and then turns into an alley-way. _Is that Lydecker?_ Syl's stomach turns.

They then move back to the other window to look at the situation and they find that a van has now pulled in. They wonder if this is the transport but then the back door opens and the conclave's elite climbs out.

"That could be a problem." Logan comments with a sarcastic tone. Zack, Brin, Syl and Krit has been informed about who White and _friends_ are and what they are capable of, so there would be no surprises.

Then another van pulls in, it passes the first one and pulls into a door way that closes behind it.

"The best chance we have is when that van is on the move." Zack starts planning out their strategy as they are watching the conclave soldiers hang around the back entrance. Guarding it. They are dressed in normal clothes, not soldier outfits, so they blend in.

A moment later the van's passenger door opens and White hops out.

"Great." Logan comments again.

"There's Lydecker." Syl points out where she can see him passing the windows as he is making his way through the building heading to the back where White and his men are.

The soldiers has now spread out as they are having casual conversation. Clearly they are not expecting any trouble. Two of them have wondered down the alley way talking, one guy is standing towards the back door and the other one entered the building a while ago, while White is hovering around the van. Clearly there are people inside the van doing surveillance. As long as that van is there, there is no way that they're going to pull this mission off successfully. That's why they'll have to wait until they are on the move.

"Look." Krit points out that the soldier that entered the building a while ago is now tailing Lydecker.

They look to where White is and they see him receiving a message over his radio and so he starts walking towards the back door.

Lydecker is cornered.

"He's got no chance." Logan comments mostly to himself and there is a slight trace of regret in his tone.

They all watch as the events unfold that'll probably be Lydecker's last. They can't do anything from up here. They won't make it but it's not like they'll make the effort anyway.

Lydecker exits the back door and then casually strides down the small set of metal stairs with his hands in his pockets as White is walking right up to him.

White says something to Lydecker but they missed it and they now have their hyper hearing trained on the situation.

Lydecker just walked into the situation like he's supposed to be there, so something is going on here. Is he working with them?

The next moment Lydecker lifts his jacket's pocket and then White goes down, then the guy that was coming up behind White goes down also. As the guy who was tailing Lydecker, exits the building behind him, Lydecker turns around, pulls out a gun he was concealing in his pocket and shoots him too.

No gun shots are heard, it's got a silencer.

Lydecker then moves to the corner and pushes up against the wall as he waits for the other two soldiers to come around the corner. They didn't hear anything, they just saw one of their guys fall over.

As soon as they make the corner, Lydecker takes them both down.

Then Lydecker heads towards the van and as he steps over White he comments. "Yeah I've never bothered myself with that anyway."

He then goes up to the van and slams his hand twice on the back door, signaling for them to open. As the door opens, Lydecker shoots twice and then pulls the unsuspecting guy out and then he climbs in and one more muffled shot is heard and the next moment another guy is dropped out of the back of the van.

Lydecker closes the doors to the back of the van and then nothing happens for a minute or so and then the driver's window opens and something is thrown out before Lydecker drives out with their surveillance van.

With their eye sight they see that the object that was discarded from the van is something electronic, probably the tracker.

There's a moment of stunned silence as they watch what just unfolded in front of their eyes. Lydecker just took out White and the elite of the conclave with exact precision and a seeming easiness. They look at the bodies lying in the alley way but then spots Max climbing up the side of the building.

"There's Max." Krit points out.

"Let's move." Zack gives the order and then four windows are kicked out and the four transgenics shoots over ropes and makes their way across to the other building as Logan starts making is way down the stairs to ready the car.

* * *

Max, Zack, Brin, Syl and Krit are all standing outside in a hallway, looking through an observation window at Tinga who is lying in a hospital bed with Lynda moving around her.

They have successfully extracted Tinga and they are now in a deserted hospital wing. There's some stuff like beds and furniture but after some _collecting - looting_ , they have fitted it out to be a fit infirmary.

Lynda comes out of the room and finds all eyes on her. And for a moment flashes of memories of them as kids with short army cut hair and gowns crosses her mind.

"She's actually is very good shape. It looks like they brought her back to life but was keeping her sedated…" Lynda takes a breath before finishing her sentence. "…for experimentation. But she's mostly unharmed." She tries to make the situation not seem as bad.

"She was sedated so she wouldn't have felt anything." Lynda assures them as they look at Tinga through the glass.

"When will she wake up?" Max inquires.

"That I don't know, the sedation affects can be various." Lynda takes another breath, she doesn't want to upset them but they have to know what might happen. "She may wake up in a few weeks or she may wake up tomorrow but have little or no memory." Zack turns to look at her.

"We will only know for sure once she wakes up." Lynda says before she goes back into the room with Tinga and checks her vitals.

The rest of the night was spent with everyone hanging around Tinga, waiting.

On the floor down they have kind of put the kitchen back into working order and this is where Max is currently busy boiling the kettle for coffee. The door opens and then the person sort of pauses and before entering.

It's Lynda. She takes a cup and starts putting in coffee and sugar and then comes to a stand on the other side of the counter from Max as they wait for the kettle to boil.

"I hear that you're working with Lydecker." Lynda has heard about how they were talking about how Lydecker took down the soldiers and so on.

Max keeps staring at the kettle. "Yeah, strange how things work out." Memories of being chased and hunted by Lydecker and then having civilized conversation and sharing hugs with him flashes through her mind.

"You know… Lydecker threatened to kill me if I were to come in between him and you." Lynda thinks back to when Lydecker had shown her the different pictures of the kids that ran away that night and then she identified Max X5 452 as the child that she helped.

"And you confirmed that he will definitely kill me." Lynda recalls what Max had said to her that day when she came back 10 years later.

"Oh, trust me, he still will." Max nonchalantly answers.

And it's true. Now more than ever. Max has absolutely no doubt that Lydecker will take down anyone who would try to take her from him. Especially now…..that they are _close._

Zack who has wondered downstairs has been standing outside the door listening to the conversation. Max's answer and tone kind of suggests that she might be well aware of Lydecker's… how did Brin put it?... _obsessesion_ … with her.

"Is that the kettle boiling?" Zack asks as he opens the door.

"Here." Max fills her cup and gives it to Zack as she takes out another cup for herself. She then also pours for Lynda and after taking a sip, Lynda decides it's her queue to go, leaving Max and Zack alone.

There's silence as they both drink their coffee and Zack wonders if he should use this opportunity to talk to Max about the Lydecker situation.

"It's good to have you back." Max breaks the silence and Zack looks over to her and she has a smile on her face.

Zack smiles in return. He can't lie, it's good to be himself again but the road to get here was a hard one.

He takes a deep breath. "Max, what are you doing with Lydecker?" He tries to keep his tone non-argumentative.

"I have him locked up in a basement where I often torture him to let out my frustrations." Max's voice drips with sarcasm.

"I'm being serious." Zack is being very serious.

Max just proceeds to put her cup in the sink and then turns to leave without answering him but Zack grabs her by the arm.

"Max, the man tortured us as kids or have you forgotten?" His voice is low and forced and angry. "He shot Eva… have you forgotten the monster that he is?"

Flashes of how she and Lydecker has connected over the past few months flashes through her mind. The conversation, the smiles, the hugs…

The pain cuts deep.

"Let go." Max says in a calm soft tone.

Eventually Zack let his hand slip away from her arm.

"Max, I'm just trying to understand what is going on." Max stops in the door and slightly turns her head.

Zack will never understand and she turns and leaves.

* * *

When Max and the others took Tinga to the abandoned hospital, Logan returned home so that he can monitor any comm chatter.

He thinks about how Lydecker practically went through White and his men like a hot knife through butter. But after he saw firsthand how Lydecker took out Jim and the two Manticore special ops soldiers that day in that warehouse, he is not surprised. Lydecker clearly is still a soldier himself and he is not someone to mess with.

Well, at least he is on their side. Logan would like to think that he is.

Logan has just come out of the kitchen and is heading for his office when he stops in his tracks.

Lydecker is standing in the living room waiting for him, like he's there to assassinate him or something. No knock, he just let himself him, somehow, as always.

"I think I just realized where it is that Max and her siblings learned not to knock." Logan sarcastically comments.

"It's good to see you Cale." Lydecker comments. "It's good to see you're doing alright." There's a touch of care in his tone.

"Well…" Logan gives a smile. "Max is back and life is good."

"That it is." Lydecker agrees.

Logan wonders about what it is that they are agreeing on, that Max is back or life is good or life is good because Max is back?

"I'll be around and I'll be in touch. If I come across anything interesting concerning Manticore and the conclave, I'll let you know." Lydecker continues like it is business like usual.

"It'll be of help to have someone on the team that has inside information." Logan sees no problem working with Lydecker. He did run Manticore for years. There's got to be things that only he can explain.

"Good, I'll be in touch." Lydecker steps forward and holds out a phone to Logan. "It's a burn phone with only one number programmed. Don't waste the call."

So in other words, use it only for emergencies.

Logan reaches out and takes hold of the phone but when we pulls back Lydecker doesn't let go and this gains his attention. As he looks up at Lydecker, he is met with a very serious expression.

"And Cale…" Lydecker uses a low serious tone that gains Logan's absolute undivided attention.

"If you do anything to hurt Max in any way, I will hunt you down and slaughter you myself."

There's a short silence as the atmosphere has turns cold, very cold.

"Got it?" Lydecker is being very serious.

"Yeah." Logan nods best he can being frozen on the spot.

Lydecker then turns and sees himself out of Logan's penthouse, leaving Logan frozen where he stood.

Lydecker had the same demeanor and tone and expression like that day when he had that video conversation with him as Eyes Only when they were trying to find Ben.

" _You think that these kids are like some kind of puppies that you can bring home and house break? They were designed to kill. Coldly, efficiently…and happily. They are all dangerous…all they need is a trigger. She's not the girl next door…you have no idea what she is capable of doing."_

Logan breaks out of his trance as he tilts his head to the side in a dismissive manner. Well this is the man who raised and trained and taught them. Every single one of those words are just as much true about himself.

As Logan goes to sit behind his computer, he also explores another feeling that he got from this strange encounter. Acceptance… or like more affirmation thereof. It's almost like Lydecker has given Max over in his care and he expects Logan to handle her as something precious to him. It is almost like Lydecker has given his blessing or something.

* * *

"Max?"

Lydecker came home and found her bike in the garage and found her standing in the living room.

As she turns her head to acknowledge him, he can see she's been crying.

"What's wrong?" He asks as he steps closer. "Is it Tinga?" Who knows what has been done to her by White and his crazy cult.

Max shakes her head.

He steps closer to her and when he is in front of her, he runs his finger underneath her chin to lift up her face to look at him.

"Who made you cry?" He softly inquires. He will hurt that person for making his little girl cry. Strangely, this happens after he just had that conversation with Cale.

Max gives a smile as she ducks her head.

"Zack … he always has to push." She wipes her hand across hear face as she gives a sniff.

"He's being protective because he cares." Lydecker has never doubted that Zack cares for all of his siblings, especially Max but he also seems to have a special talent for making her cry.

Max starts rubbing the ball of her fists in her eyes to clear the tears away as she hangs her head not really wanting to make eye contact, when Lydecker softly places his hands over her wrists and gently strokes his thumbs over the back of her hands. Max stops rubbing her eyes but she doesn't take her hands away from her face as she feels Lydeckers hands, warm and soft and comforting.

Lydecker then plants a kiss on her head.

"Were you fighting over me?" Lydecker softly asks.

Max drops her head slightly more in acknowledgement.

They may have come to an understanding and some level of forgiveness but Lydecker knows that it doesn't change the past, the things that had happened. And even though he's been trying to make up for all those years, the cold reality of the past is still there. No doubt that Zack will always remind everybody of that.

Max thinks back to her conversation with Zack. Zack always hits where it hurts the most. _He a monster or have you forgotten?…_ He was reminding her of the things that Lydecker did to them when they were kids. And flashes of things that happened at Manticore has been plaguing her mind.

" _You can make yourself forget." They are sitting in a classroom and Lydecker is lecturing and instructing them. "Is this your barcode?" She's strapped to the psy-ops chair, she can still feel the cold steel of the chair, it was just before they escaped, she was 9... She remembers looking up straight into Lydecker's eyes as he hovered over her while holding a paper with her barcode on it.  
"Answer me!" _

Lydecker's voice yelling at her still echoes though her mind. Even if she has forgiven him much more than what she wants to admit. There are still those memories and she still remembers them and they still hurt.

By the time she is pulled back to reality by a hand on the side of her head, her own head is hanging down in deep thought. Lydecker pulls her close and plants a lingering kiss on her temple and then presses her face against his as he speaks softly into her ear. "I love you Maxie, I always have and I always will." Lydecker then pulls her into a firm hug and Max responds by wrapping her own arms around him.

 _I love you._ It echoes in her mind.

She remembers Lydecker as cold and angry, she remembers that angry look on his face when he shot Eva. She remembers him coldly looking on as they were in the water tank and Ben was close to drowning. She remembers him yelling… the disapproving looks. The bad outweighed the good by far.

But while being hugged by Lydecker at that moment of thinking about Eva, Max thinks about it in this context. Now knowing about Lydecker and herself. That night when Eva got shot. That was the night when she had a seizure and the doctors tried to take her away but her brothers and sisters wouldn't let them take her. They were going to somehow get her out. Eva was out in front with the gun clearing a path when Lydecker shot her. And then realization hits her, what if Lydecker shot Eva… and he was so angry and furious because they were trying to take her away from him and Eva was leading? Is that why?

Lydecker pulls out of the hug and then places his hands on Max's shoulders and looks her in the eye.

"You have found it somewhere in your heart to somehow forgive me, up to some degree, and you have found some corner in your heart that is willing to understand me or at least try to…. And you have given me a chance to try... I don't expect anybody else to, and I don't want you to fight about it. I don't want to come between you, I don't want you to choose between me and them."

Lydecker tilts his head forward as he lifts his eyes looking at her. "Ok?"

Max looks at him all teary eyed and then nods as she starts blinking the tears away. Max then moves forward and hugs him.

Zack made her second guess her relationship with Lydecker, whether he is being truthful or if he is busy playing her. But she can't see anything that suggests that. She truly believes that he is truthful with her, that he really does care for her and love her as his daughter.

But if it is not so, if it is all a lie….. then she is the biggest fool this world has to offer because she is loving it and she doesn't want to lose it.

As they break out of the hug, Lydecker steers her back to sit on the couch while he moves and sits on the coffee table in front of Max. He rubs his hands together as he is looking down, like he is getting ready to talk serious things.

Max blinks the tears away as she also drops her gaze to the floor. This conversation had to happen at some point or another, even though she was trying to avoid it, forget get, pretend it doesn't exist. But sooner or later reality has to be faced.

"I'm sorry for making you cry." Lydecker states as he leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees.

"About what?" Max isn't sure if he is now talking about something recent, or something specific or all of it.

"About everything." Lydecker's tone turns to a slight whisper. Like that night in that cheap hotel and somehow Max knows that when he starts whispering, he is telling the truth.

Max nods her head but doesn't make eye contact. "I know."

"Max the things that….. happened…" Lydecker lets out a breath. "The things that I did….." Lydecker uses his hand to point to himself and then gestures to Max. "…to you…to the others.."

Max keeps her eyes trained on the floor. For some reason she can't look him in the eye while talking about these things. There's no denying it, he did torture them, they were only kids, he re-indoctrinated Brin, and these things cannot all just be ignored like they didn't happen.

"I will make no excuses…..I did do those things." He pauses as he takes a deep breath. "And I wasn't particularly forced to." He gestures with his hands to show that he is guilty.

"But I never wanted to hurt you Max, you must know this. I _had_ to treat you the same as the others." Lydecker turns his head as he looks away. "I had a job to do, I had a boss to report to and the committee always breathing down my neck." He says these things with all the contempt that he has for it.

"There was no other way." Lydecker sighs as he looks back to Max who is still looking at the ground. "I…" Another sigh. "I couldn't just take you and leave. The only way anyone got to retire out of Manticore was with a bullet. I somehow had to work things out with Manticore in the picture." Lydecker puts his hands together gesturing putting it all together.

"But I…" Lydecker hesitates as he tries to think of the correct words to use.

"I also wanted you to be better. I had to make sure that you stayed ahead and didn't end up….." Lydecker pauses and then starts rubbing his forehead.

"A failure?" Max offers.

"If an X5 was what was classified as a failure, they were either turned into a lab experiment or they were terminated and their organs were harvested for any casualties that the others may have had." Lydecker speaks truthfully, he doesn't even know if Max is aware of that.

Lydecker leans forward to get Max's attention and then looks her in the eye.

"I couldn't let that happen." A whisper. "I couldn't let that happen to you." He lifts his finger and points at her.

Silence falls on the conversation again.

"I was chosen for that job because I had a particular set of skills Max. I'm not saying that I'm all that innocent. But I want you to know that I'm sorry that you got caught up in it like that." Lydecker ducks his head and takes a deep breath. "Yet, I'm the one who put you in that situation…and I knew exactly what was coming."

"I…" Lydecker puts his hand over his mouth like he's going to move into forbidden territory. After a deep breath through his nose, Lydecker removes his hand. "My wife and I could never have kids." He confesses as he gives a halfhearted smile as he thinks of her. "She really wanted to have a child."

Lydecker just stares at the floor in contemplation. He has said more things out loud in these past few weeks than what he has over the last 20 years put together.

Then there's silence as Max watches him.

"So, I'm the only family that you have." Max states in a soft tone.

Lydecker slowly nods as he lifts his eyes to make eye contact with Max and she can see there's pain in his eyes. She remembers him having that same look when he turned on her and Zack when they went to get Brin. She was confronting Lydecker as she was locked inside a cell. _It's a little more complicated than that..._ Max could see something in his eyes but she chose to ignore it because she was angry at him.

"…" Lydecker was about to say something but then he just gestures with his hands in silence. "If you'll have me." _…..as family…_ His tone is downcast.

Max drops her head and then slightly smiles. She then lifts up her face and looks at Lydecker with a soft expression and a small smile.

"I wouldn't be here if …" Max suddenly gets up and moves to sit next to Lydecker on the coffee table. She then takes hold of his arm and lifts it over her shoulders. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want you to be part of my life."

Lydecker smiles as he pulls her closer.

"I understand why Zack and the others wants to protect you from me." Lydecker does understand that perfectly fine, especially Zack. He feels a particular under current of hate towards himself when Zack is in the picture.

"I understand it too but they are the ones that don't understand." Max slightly shakes her head as she's looking down, thinking of Zack, Brin, Tinga and the others.

"You're family." Max then looks at Lydecker. "And forgiveness may not change the past but it does change the future." Her tone hopeful.

Lydecker gives a smile as he looks back at Max. He pulls her closer and gives her a kiss on the side of her head.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness." Lydecker softly states with a small smile.

"But you've got it." Max confidently states and then lays her head on Lydecker's shoulder.

Lydecker slowly leans his head against Max's. He never thought there would be a day that Max would accept him like this and here they are.

"Max, I am still who I always have been. And I have my flaws. I am still a soldier…and my mind only has one setting…if you don't fight you die…" Lydecker sighs. "I'm just saying I won't get everything right." He admits with all honesty. He doesn't want her to be disappointed in him.

* * *

Lydecker kills Jim and betrays Manticore for the second time in Season 2 ep 1 'Designate This'.

Eyes Only and Lydecker had a video meeting in Season 1 ep 17 'Pollo Loco'.

Max confronted Lydecker being locked in a cell next to Brin in Season 1 ep 7 'Cold Comfort'.

Thanks for reading :)

Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	8. Chapter 8 Special

Zack is standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the window looking out. As he seems to do often. He thinks about his short conversation with Max about Lydecker. Does Max think that he has changed or something?

He has not, Zack knows it.

The _treatment_ that Lynda used to regain his old memories and his old self was not exactly one simply therapy session. Manticore messed with his head with Manticore methods and the only way to fix what they have done, was to use Manticore methods. It was a painful process. So all of his memories are fresh in his mind. All the memories of Manticore from when they were kids, memories of Lydecker, of Max.

Zack thinks about when he gave himself up so that Max can get away and he was taken back to Manticore. When he was put through multiple, high dose psy-ops sessions. Just about for most of his stay at Manticore, he was strapped to that cold steel chair in psy-ops.

Every. single. day he was tortured and Lydecker personally did it. And he used every single tactic that Manticore had taught him to avoid telling Lydecker anything. Zack made himself forget.

But there is however, one thing that he clearly picked up through it all… Max was definitely at the top of Lydecker's priority list. He was even willing to lose Zack in order to get closer to Max.

And remembering these things makes him angry. Angry at Lydecker for what he did to him, to all of them but then he gets angry at Max. What exactly is Max doing with him?

* * *

Max is sitting on the top part of the couch with her feet on the arm rest while watching the tv as the evening news is showing footage of White and his men brutally taking down one of the transgenics that survived the Terminal City incident. There are so few of them left now and now things are worse than what they were before.

After White and his department released a statement concerning the Terminal City incident, things has gone from bad to worse. He said that it was a deadly virus that one of the transgenics was carrying that resulted in what happened that day. But that's not true. That was White and his men that did that. But everybody believes what the 'government' agent says and so everybody who is everybody is now afraid of them and are willing to kill them.

Apparently, White was clever enough to wear a bullet proof vest that day. That's why he is still alive after Lydecker shot him as they went to get Tinga. But it turns out that all the other conclave elite soldiers was dead. And it only took one washed-up soldier with one setting in his mind, _survival_ to get rid of them.

"The power of media." Lydecker comments as he's watching the footage.

He comes to stand next to Max and puts his arms around her and pulls her to him. He plants a kiss on her head and then tucks her head under his chin. Max leans into him. She feels so safe here.

This has become so _normal_ , the hugs, the kisses on her head. From the very first time that Lydecker hugged her, she became addicted to his hugs. It made her feel so loved. She doesn't ever want to lose this. This fatherly affection. She doesn't ever want to go back to being alone and with no one giving her affection.

Logan can't hug her. Joshua can't hug her no more. She's never trusted Alec that much. OC's hugs are nice but they're of a different kind. Zack, forget it. And so goes for her _brothers and sisters_ they're all way too careful. And that leaves her with Lydecker. And here she is in his arms. Safe, secure and loved and she's not planning on changing that.

Even if the others do find out eventually what is really going on. It will cause problems and raise questions that she doesn't ever want to answer or explain. It'll be really weird between them then. So, best keep this like one of those secrets you take to the grave with you. But with Zack on her case about Lydecker…she probably has to start talking and tell him something that he'll believe and will make him back off.

* * *

It's now six weeks later and Tinga's husband and son is sitting next to her in the hospital bed. They decided that her husband should know what's going on, so they contacted him and brought him and their son to her. Tinga in the meantime had woken up, a bit confused but she's doing very good. Her memory isn't too shot. Just a few blurry ones here and there.

But there is however some memories that are very clear to her. And the current topic of conversation has her recalling them.

Zack has been telling them, Tinga and her husband, Charlie, about that day when Tinga had given herself up to Manticore to save her son's life. He was so angry for not being able to do more to save Tinga and keep her safe.

"I was sure that Lydecker was the one who betrayed us. He made a deal if you hand yourself over then he'll give the antidote to save your son but I didn't believe him for one moment." Zack recalls the day well. "Max is the one that for some reason or another believed that it wasn't him." Zack glances over to Max.

Even though the situation had Lydecker written all over it, she believed it wasn't him. Yet another thing that made him suspicious of Max and Lydecker. Even though it turned out to be the truth. She trusted him too easily.

"Well, she was right." Tinga agrees. "When I was in the SUV with Brin, Lydecker was the one on the radio that was demanding to know what was going on. He clearly stated that our son was not the target."

"Yes, that was his orders that Renfro decided to change behind his back." Brin explains what had happened. "He actually went out of his way to protect your son." Brin has thought of this many times. "Renfro was more interested in your son than in you. She wanted to experiment on him so that they can make a hundred more just like him. Born X5. And then Lydecker somehow got this plan together to get you and not to take your son to Manticore. Of course Renfro didn't agree with that." Brin gives the inside information about had happened all along.

Max thinks back to that day. She remembers after they had exchanged Tinga for the antidote and they were on their way to leave, Lydecker gave her a smile and said _this isn't as big a tragedy as you think it is._ Is that what Lydecker was referring to? That he arranged things in such a way that the boy may go free and not end up on the experimentation table in Manticore's lab?

She then remembers after they tried to attack them and take the boy and she cursed at Lydecker, he reacted rather strangely. _It wasn't me!_ Almost like he wanted to prove something to her. Like he was trying to prove that he is the good guy in the story. And something in her just believed him.

"I have always thought that is was this Lydecker guy that wanted to take our son as well." Charlie, Tinga's husband confesses the grudge that he's been holding against Lydecker and that's after he tried to kill their son too.

Tinga is also taken by surprise at this. She really didn't think that Lydecker had a heart. She too is confused by this. He was probably up to something else, something much worse. This is Lydecker they are talking about, he's not in it for the charity.

But then they started telling her about how they took down the DNA lab and Lydecker helped them. Then she was really confused by the things that she missed.

* * *

A few days later, Zack steps into the old pump house. He used to use it as his hide out. It is located just outside of Seattle and no one comes out there and he hasn't been here since before Tinga was captured.

He just needed a break away from everything, so he decided to come here and have some peace and quiet for himself. He just went with Syl and Krit to see them off as they left with new identities and new lives.

Looking around, everything is covered in a thick layer of dust and he starts digging around as his memory is starting to recall all the things he used to stash here.

He comes across a box and then he remembers Mr. Vogelsang. The private investigator that helped Max find him. That day when he went to kill him because he would lead Lydecker to Max, he took this box of tapes that he found locked away in his office. Mr. Vogelsang kept track of a lot of people and you never know when you might need to find someone to steal from.

An unmarked tape catches Zack's attention. All the other tapes are neatly marked and put in place but not this one. So this is suspicious and Zack has to immediately investigate.

He takes the tape out and goes to another room where a tv is located, hopefully it still works. Zack inserts the tape and steps back to see what's on it.

It starts playing and it reveals a room, an office. After some more watching, Zack realizes that this is a camera that the private investigator had in his office. He was recording himself? But then a man comes into his office as he is busy on the phone and as soon as Mr. Vogelsang sees him…

"Mr. Lydecker."

Now Zack is very interested in this tape.

"She wasn't here, I haven't seen her. I've told you everything I know, I swear it!" He starts explaining like someone who knows that if he doesn't tell what he knows, there will be pain. Clearly Lydecker has been there before.

"It seems so unfair…" Lydecker starts to drawl as he walks around Mr. Vogelsang's desk. "…..and along comes this girl who asks you to help her find other kids with barcodes on their necks." And as Lydecker reaches out, Mr. Volgosang cringes and tries to duck away.

"Please don't hurt me Mr. Lydecker." His tone on the verge of begging, clearly he knows of pain from Lydecker's hand.

Lydecker then takes hold of Volgosang's hand. "How's the nails?"

"No, please Mr. Lydecker." Now he is begging. So he had suffered torture at Lydecker's hand.

Lydecker then looks him right in the eye. "Mr. Volgosang, I want you to be very clear just how important this young girl is to _me."_ He adds emphasis and then he places his hand on the back of Mr. Volgosang's neck and the man tries to cower away, clearly terrified of him.

"I would peel every inch of skin from your body if it would bring me...one heartbeat closer to her." Lydecker uses a deadly tone.

He believes that Lydecker would fulfil every word of it.

The tape stops and Zack continues to stare at the blank screen.

* * *

Logan is at his computer typing away when an object is suddenly stuck in front of his face.

"Can you play this?"

Logan looks at up Zack. He's got an old video tape in his hand.

"I do have an old player." Logan takes the tape from Zack and moves to the far corner in his office.

"What's on it?" Logan inquires.

There's no answer, so Logan turns around to look at Zack.

Zack just looks back at him. "You'll see."

"Ok." Logan whispers to himself. He doesn't particularly like that look on Zack's face.

Logan plugs the old player in and then sticks the tape in and rewinds it. Zack moves to close the door as he would like to keep this between him and Logan but as he gets to the door Brin appears.

"What's on it?" Brin asks as she looks at Zack.

Gesturing with his head for Brin to enter, he closes the door behind her. Well she is aware of the Max and Lydecker situation.

Logan gives Brin a glance and then when Zack is next to her, he hits the play button.

When the video stops there's a silence in the room and then Brin is the first to break the silence. "This obsession that Lydecker has with Max is slightly …unsettling."

"It is down right disturbing." Zack brashly stresses.

* * *

Lydecker's car comes to a standstill in the light drizzle of the rain.

After a long silence in the car Max speaks softly. "I'll give you a minute."

Lydecker nods. "Thanks." But he doesn't move to get out, only after a long while later he exits the car.

They are surrounded by tombstones. They are in the graveyard and it's cloudy and wet.

After Lydecker closes the car door, he just stands there not moving.

Max watches him out of the corner of her eye. This is probably a very hard thing for him to do. That night when she found Lydecker passed out on the date of when his wife was murdered, they ended up talking about her but only a little bit. For some reason Max was curious where her grave was. Lydecker told her but then he also confessed that he has never been to his wife's grave. He was away overseas on a classified mission and when he got back, that is when his whole world came crashing down.

He didn't even get to be at her funeral and he never found the courage to come to her grave. So in a sense he has never really said goodbye.

So here they are.

After a long time, Lydecker slowly starts walking towards his wife's grave. His walk is slow and his shoulders are slouched, like it's a walk of shame for him. He finally comes to a stop by her grave but he doesn't turn towards it. He just keeps looking ahead and then he starts to straighten out, squares his shoulders and lifts his head. Like a soldier, take it like a soldier.

A few minutes later he turns towards her grave and he hangs his head as he looks at it.

After watching him a long time, Max gets out of the car and slowly walks over to him and then comes to stand next to him.

 _Juaneve Lydecker… Loving Wife…1968-1995_

Seeing the words on the tombstone somehow makes it all more of a reality and she feels a tug of pain in her heart for him. _How would she feel it that was Logan…?_

Max then slowly slips her hand into Lydecker's, letting him know that he is not alone and she can feel a slight tremble in his hand.

After a while Lydecker squeezes in acknowledgement.

The two of them stand a long time in the drizzle of the soft rain, looking at his wife's tombstone.

* * *

After they have seen the tape with Mr. Vogelsang and Lydecker, Logan, Zack and Brin had decided that there is most certainly something going on. And with their suspicion of Max hanging around him, they have decided it's time to stop sitting back and to do something.

They have decided to not confront Max about it but rather to silently observe from the background. Zack and Brin considered following her to see where she goes and to see if she meets up with Lydecker or comes into contact with him but they decided against it as Max will certainly know if she's being tailed.

So they have decided to try and find anything and everything on Lydecker and to focus on him instead, while making Max think they know nothing of the situation.

Logan has been hacking left right and center into government files, organizations and programs. Zack and Brin has been breaking into government buildings retrieving files that are connected to Lydecker.

A week later …

"Found something." Brin speaks while holding the flashlight in her mouth as she opens a file.

"What is it?" Zack asks as he comes out of the shadows and looks over her shoulder.

Brin has got a folder that has a file in it that has Lydecker's name on it.

"Let's go." The door to the storerooms open up as the guards are doing patrol and Zack and Brin slips out through the air ducts.

Logan is busy typing away on his keyboard when a folder is suddenly drops right next to him on his desk. It's amazing he didn't jump, maybe he is getting use to this.

"Found this." Zack informs.

Logan picks up the file and starts paging through it. He lifts up his hands in a questioning gesture. We won't get anything out of this. Expect for Lydecker's name and picture and a few unimportant words, the entire file has been blanked out as classified information.

"Yeah well this is the first thing that we have found that directly connects to Lydecker." Zack feels like they're getting somewhere.

"Wait a sec." Logan starts flipping through the whole folder and finds that everything has been blocked out with black, until he came to a certain page where they missed a small print number in the corner. He squints as he brings the page closer to see better.

"What?" Brin asks as she tries to see what he is looking at.

"Case nr." Being a hacker, he knows where to look for things, especially if it has to do with information that nobody wants to share.

"Who's that?" Zack asks as Logan pulls up a file on the computer and a picture of another guy that they don't know appears.

"Agent Thomas Carter. Head of the CIA covert operations. He was Lydecker's CO in 1990." Logan starts connecting the dots.

"Interesting, who would've connected Lydecker to the CIA?"

All three of them jump around and finds Tinga standing there.

Logan turns back to his screen as he puts a hand over his heart, he almost had a heart attack. They have so been sneaking around trying to keep this under raps because they don't want Max to find out, they're all jumpy.

"Tinga." Zack acknowledges her.

"So, what is going on here?" Tinga asks as she moves closer. For weeks now she has been noticing this secret society gathering of Logan, Zack and Brin and she can clearly tell that they are busy with something they don't want anyone else to know about.

Brin looks from Tinga to Zack. He's the CO, he can explain.

After a long discussion of catching Tinga up with what is going on with Lydecker and Max, Tinga pulls a face of disgust.

"So what are you saying?" Clearly she doesn't like what is going on and it involves her little sister.

"We don't know, that is why we are investigating." Logan explains.

"What can I do?" Tinga offers. She wants in, she won't sit back and let Lydecker do something to Max like what happened to Brin. Even though Manticore isn't even in the picture anymore, Lydecker certainly raises a red flag. Anything that has to do with him cannot be good.

"I have tracked down agent Carter. He'll be in the town just over from here in two days' time." Logan has pulled up a lot of stuff about him to try and connect him to Manticore or Lydecker.

"Good, maybe we should pay him a visit." Zack states, he can make anyone talk if he wants them to.

"I also have found that he is connected to a lot of classified and blanked out operations and cases. We'll have to be careful with him, we don't know what he is really capable of." Logan tries to set the tone for messing with the CIA.

"Well, he doesn't know what we are capable of." Zack adds.

Logan decides not to pursue the discussion of the difference between three genetically engineered soldiers beating someone up and then someone who has the power to bring down the entire government and underground shadow task force on you.

* * *

The next day Max shows up at Logan's penthouse and everybody plays their part of pretending that they suspect nothing.

"He's got your smile." Max smiles as she and Tinga is watching Cade and Charlie.

"He does, doesn't he?" Tinga smiles also as she is watching her husband and son.

She's so happy and yet still in shock that she has gotten her life back, gotten her husband and child back.

Max and Tinga continues to talk and laugh and catch up.

Brin and Zack is standing in the kitchen keeping a close eye on her. They, Zack, Brin, Logan and now Tinga are keeping a very close eye on Max to see for changes in her. They watch her reactions, behaviors, the way she walks and talks to see if there is anything that's unusual. But instead Logan just comments that she seems happier than usual. She smiles more, she seems less tense. Maybe it's because she's got her siblings in her life for longer than 5 minutes at a time?

Brin watches Max and she's so far away in thought that she stops doing what she was busy with. Zack notices this.

"You're wondering what makes her so special." Brin breaks out of her trance and glances over to Zack.

"I've been wondering for a long time Brin." Zack puts a box away. "Ever since we were kids." He confesses.

"She wasn't at the top of the class, that was always your place." Brin points out to Zack. That's why he's the CO.

Zack looks over to Brin, so many memories.

"Why would Lydecker have a special interest in her?" Brin asks in a wondering tone. What is different about her?

"Hmm." Zack acknowledges. "There is something that Max hasn't been telling us. That night when Max showed up at that warehouse and pulled Lydecker out of the car…something else must've happened that night. How did he suddenly go from hunting us to helping us the next minute?"

"I told you, that has to do with Max." Brin knows that for sure. "With Max in the picture, things just changes when it came to Lydecker."

"But 'why' is the question." Brin looks to Zack and then looks away.

* * *

Two days later Max is sitting on the couch again, sitting on the top part of the couch with her feet on the armrest. Since Lydecker hasn't complained about her feet on the couch, she has now claimed this spot as her _space needle_ spot in his house.

"I cannot believe that White and his men are that stupid." Max pulls a stupendous face. Well their stupidity did get the conclave's elite killed and it didn't seem to make them any wiser about their publicity.

"It's a miracle they got this far." Lydecker agrees as he walks into the living room with a cup of coffee. "Covert clearly is not their forte."

"Oh, so you believe in miracles too?" Max asks in a mock surprise tone. At the genetics conference, Lydecker seemed to have a very dim few of things. A miracle believer didn't quite suit Lydecker's profile.

He takes a sip of his coffee and puts the cup down.

"Of course I do." He steps up to Max and places his hands on either side of her face, lifts her head up and plants a kiss on her forehead.

Then he looks her in the eye. "You're my little miracle." He tells as he smiles.

Max gives one big smile in return as her heart just overflows and she then lays her head on his chest as she hugs him. Lydecker surrounds her with his arms as he hugs her back and rests his chin on her head as he has a smile on his face.

She thinks back to when she was sitting with Tinga watching her son. She remembers how Tinga looked at him and how she talked about him, she loves him with all her heart. He is her child and she will do anything for him. Max wonders if that is how Lydecker feels about her?

* * *

Lydecker and Mr. Volgelsang is seen in Season 1 ep 2 'Heat'.

Thanks for reading :)

Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	9. Chapter 9 Answers

Zack is dressed in a suit. Yes a suit, a business suit. Logan had organized him one so that he can blend in and not stand out. And here he is blending in as he is busy infiltrating a business building.

They tracked down agent Carter to be having some meeting here but to Zack's surprise he found….

"White is here." Zack informs over the comms.

"What is he doing here?" Logan asks as he is monitoring over the laptop in the car outside with Brin and Tinga.

"It seems that it is White that is meeting with Carter." Zack decided that the air ducts is going to give him better movement and so here he is slowly moving through the air ducts until he came to a room with said people in it.

The room is secured, so the room is sound proof. No idea why there is even an air vent but it's there even though no sound passes through. So, he can at least see what is going on but he can't hear anything, not even with his hyper sensitive hearing.

Currently agent White has handed agent Carter a file and that file is Lydecker's. Zack can see his picture, so White is asking about him. Well, Lydecker did come back from the dead and shoot them, only thing is White didn't stay down and now they are on to him.

Zack watches as agent Carter gets to the back of the file and then there's pictures, photo's. Their photo's. X5's as kids and then a few of them how they look like now, like Brin's, Tinga's, Max's…

Agent Carter pauses at one photo before he then closes the folder and pushes is back to White as he shakes his head. He doesn't know anything.

After watching the two agents, Zack has come to the conclusion that he really doesn't like White at all, but agent Carter, he is a different story. Just by watching his body language, Zack can tell that this man does not play nice with others. Perhaps they should wait before making a move on him.

* * *

A few days later Max and Lydecker is busy in his garage with the van that he had picked-up from White and his men when they went to go get Tinga. Max has been noticing that Lydecker seems to have a thing for telecommunication. _She excelled at telecommunication as a kid._ Interesting…

"They're tough to beat. I wonder what they have in their diet." Max was telling Lydecker about White and the conclave people. They are inhumanly strong. They may not be fast like the transgenics but they are strong.

"Remember, you don't need to tangle with them Max." Lydecker looks through some disks he found in the van. "You don't need to beat them, you just need to get past them." He uses that real command voice like when he addresses his soldiers. "You have to pick your fights wisely." He starts instructing her and it almost feels like she is back in class with him.

Max slightly annoyed at the tone suddenly exclaims in a solid stern and loud voice.

"Yes sir!"

Lydecker glances at Max who is standing next to him and pulls her a _what are you doing?_ face. "Don't sir me." His tone is disapproving but stays in commander mode as he turns back to the file he was paging through.

"Yes mam!" Max exclaims, seriously stern and loud.

Lydecker sharply turns his head towards Max as he squares his shoulders and lifts his head, like when he does when someone is pushing his buttons and he pins Max with a glare.

Max gives him a big smile with the most innocent look that she can muster up and the two of them engages in a stand-off.

 _Come on, who cannot smile at this innocent face?_

But Lydecker's face stays stone solid.

Eventually Max drops the smile with a sigh. "I give up."

As she moves to put the folder down she was looking though, Lydecker hooks his arm over her shoulder, pulls her back and plants a kiss on the side of her head.

It has been an extremely long time since anyone has interacted with him in this manner. The last person he ever got to interact like this with was Juaneve. She was the one who held the light in his soul and she's the one who held him back from completely slipping away into the darkness of war and death. After Juaneve was gone, so was that part of his heart. He never interacted with anyone else like that again. After she was taken away from him, he became bitter and angry and that only pushed him deeper into the dangerously serious mindset that war and violence had already started shaping in him.

At Manticore he was always and only the director and commander. Manticore was already a dark and cold place as it was, because of the line of work that happened there. And that was why he was perfect for the job, he lacked the heart and sense of humor that had no place at Manticore.

But now with Max in his life, he is slowly but surely getting used to that spark of life again but it's going to take time. Max is the only one that he has allowed through his cold steel exterior. And Max has up to a point understood that about him but he just hopes that Max has the patience to hang around with all his faults.

* * *

A few days later...

Lydecker is making his way through the woods in a strategical method as he crouches behind a tree here and there to stop and scout for any other movement. The area is probably empty but just to be sure has never killed anyone.

His old OC from over 25 years ago had made contact with him via an advert in the paper about someone looking for a rodent exterminator. There was no contacts added but the person for who the message was meant, knows exactly what to do. The advert had a secret location embedded into it and that's the payphone that Lydecker first wants to get under his scope before he phones.

As Lydecker rises from his crouched position and takes a cautionary look past the tree, Max sneaks up from behind him completely unawares.

"Boo!" Max whispers right next to his ear as she lays her hands on his back and she can clearly feel him jump as she brushes past him.

"Made you jump." Max whispers as she continues on without sparing him a glance as if he's not even there. "10 points."

Lydecker slowly straightens himself and lifts his head, _like what he does when someone is pushing his buttons_ , he takes a deep breath, lifts up his sniper rifle and starts moving into the other direction.

Max wanted to know where he was off to with a sniper rifle, so Lydecker told her about agent Thomas Carter and she decided that she wanted to tag along. Deep down Lydecker is thinking to himself that Max may have come along to make sure he doesn't shoot some innocent person. He has noticed that Max has a real problem with _innocent_ people getting hurt and she has a personal agenda against guns. It so makes him think about his wife, she didn't like the guns either.

...

For the next week Zack, Brin, Tinga and Logan have been watching agent Carter like a hawk, with all professionalism so that he doesn't notice. They have been tracking his movements, hacking his phone conversations and listening in on face to face meetings that they can catch. Zack had from somewhere 'acquired' - _stolen_ a long distance listening device. So they can be 200 yards away and hear the conversation which really helps with covert stalking.

They have even managed to get a tracker stuck underneath his car and that's how they have now followed him to a park in the forest. They have stopped the car far away on the other side of the little stream of water and they have now pulled out binoculars - well Logan has - and the listening device ready to catch whatever he is doing.

Agent Carter casually gets out of his car and then strolls over to the payphone and as he gets to it, it starts ringing, right on queue.

Agent Carter picks up the phone and brings it to his hear as he has a big smile on his face.

"Don." He greets happily like running into an old friend he hasn't seen for a long time.

"What do you want?" Lydecker's voice on the other side of the phone. Cold and calculating.

Zack and the other's glance at each other, they recognize the name and they recognize the voice.

"Always straight to the point, that is what made you one hell of a soldier." Carter comments as his tone is jovial but spot on.

"Tom, what do you want?" Lydecker is not in a jovial mood. Well, when is he ever?

The four of them observing from Logan's car clearly catches the use of personal names. They know each other on a more personal level it would seem.

"Well firstly, it may be 24 years late but congratulations is in order." Carter announces with a tinge of excitement in his voice.

"For what?" Lydecker's tone is flat, he is not interested in a friendly conversation.

"I didn't know that you had a kid." Carter's tone is slightly changed to disappointment like his best friend didn't tell him about it.

"Now I was never sure about you and kids, but Juaneve must've been ecstatic." Carter speaks in the tone of an old friend and so it would seem that he knows much about Lydecker personally.

"She looks just like her mother." His tone contemplative. With their eye sight zoomed and trained on the man, Zack, Brin and Tinga can clearly see as the man is smiling as he is in thought for a moment.

There's silence on the other side of the line. Clearly Lydecker didn't want anyone to know that.

"I've got to hand it to you Don, as you are very well aware that I'm a very _dastardly_ man…" Agent Carter gives a low chuckle as his tone clearly suggests that he is the wrong person to mess with. "I never would've thought of going to look at Manticore for your daughter." Carter uses a slightly outrages tone as he hits the subject on its head.

"But a man's got to do what a man's got to do to protect his family." Carter's tone shifts to an understanding one as he sighs.

"What do you want?" Lydecker asks, still serious and not participating in much of conversation. But his tone is slightly different, almost like he's asking what Carter wants him to do to keep this secret to himself.

"Don, I have secrets that I will take to the grave with me, just like you have secrets that you will take to the grave with you." Sounds like Carter is saying that he won't speak.

"So this call was to congratulate you and to inform you of your current status." Towards the end of the sentence, agent Carter's voice turns into CIA mode.

"As per your contract _that doesn't exist._ " Of course with off the book missions, there's no proof of it. "As you and your actions have now caused questions to be raised….you have been completely removed from the system…you now no longer exist. We will deny your involvement with the government and we will deny that you ever existed." Carter speaks like this is standard procedure and this shouldn't come as a surprise.

"And now Don, as I put this phone down and get into my car, I'm going to trust that you won't put a bullet in my head." Carter's tone clearly suggest that he knows exactly who Lydecker is and what he is capable of.

Carter knows that Lydecker is most certainly somewhere in the woods that are surrounding the park with a sniper rifle trained on his forehead. Lydecker never minced words and he never handled anything as less than absolute serious. That's why they wanted him for the Manticore project. He had a certain mindset that no one else had.

The line goes dead as Lydecker just puts the phone down. Carter follows suit and puts the phone down also. He is not offended at Lydecker's lack of conversation, he knows him like that.

He then makes his way back to his car, gets in and drives off.

There's a dead silence in Logan's car.

Silence.

No one moves, no one looks to the other, no one makes a sound as what they have just heard is sinking in – with great difficulty.

Eventually, Tinga's face pulls into an expression of disgust. "Wait…..Lydecker is … Max's…father?"

Zack is also frowning greatly as he tries to comprehend this. Maybe they heard wrong. Maybe they misunderstood but…

" _She looks just like her mother….. I never would've thought of going to look at Manticore for your daughter…_

Who else? Who else could he be talking about but Max? White gave Carter a file to look at and their pictures were in there. Her picture was in there. And they are all too aware of Lydecker's interest in Max.

So, this is what Lydecker's obsession with Max is about, she's his daughter...

 _Well it does explain a lot_. Logan thinks to himself. This really is the only thing that explains all the questions. But her father? He knew that Lydecker had some twisted sense of paternal attachment to his _kids_ , especially Max but he never would've guessed this.

"What father would do that to their child?" Tinga asks as she is a mother and she cannot think to do such a thing to Cade as what has been done to them.

"Well he did mention that a man has got to do what a man has got to do to protect his family." Logan reminds them as he is still far away in thought.

"Don't defend him." Zack's voice is filled with venom.

Logan tilts his head in agreement but also adds… "His wife was murdered." He adds in a hinting tone. And with all the horror stories that Logan has heard about the CIA….

After sitting in the car a long time after agent Carter has left, they finally pull off. They are going home, they have found what they came for…

Answers.

...

After Lydecker presses the end-call button, he looks at Carter through the scope of his rifle. Carter knows him too well.

How did this even get to Carter? Carter may not have the whole truth, Max isn't biologically his child but still, this is too close for comfort. White must be scratching around. _There's a reason why they say 'cut off of the head'._

At least with his existence being wiped from the government's files, White will have a hard time finding him now since he doesn't exist anymore. Not like this has much of an impact on his life, this is how he has been living for the past year or so. And it's peaceful, no one ever phones him with a problem or for a report.

Max is sitting on a low hanging tree branch watching the situation as she has her hyper-hearing trained in on the conversation.

 _She looks just like her mother…_

Max didn't realize that she looked that much like Lydecker's wife. Sure she has seen a picture and one can find some similarities if one knows what to look for…

Looking at Lydecker who is still looking through his scope, she wonders if Lydecker is actually going to shoot this guy and if she should intervene. She can understand why he would kill Carter, he knows something that only two people on this planet is supposed to be aware of, her and Lydecker and nobody else. But it sounded like the two of them has some kind of understanding going.

Before Max can hop of the branch, Lydecker drops his rifle as agent Carter drives off. Lydecker then turns around and heads back to the car without even sparing her a glance. "Let's go." His tone clearly reveals that he has switched into soldier mode, he was more than ready to shoot that guy.

In the car driving back nothing has been said for a mile or so until Max breaks the silence.

"So was he a friend other than your OC?" Max inquires. It sounded like they had something other than just a strict work relation.

"He and his wife used to come for dinner." Lydecker's tone is detached, he really doesn't like thinking back to the past.

"She a nice lady?" Max asks as he could tell that agent Carter may smile and put on a show but he is really not a nice person. She just wondered about the lady that he's married to.

"She's dead." Lydecker flatly states.

Max glances over to Lydecker.

"She was murdered." Lydecker takes a deep breath. "Like my wife."

Max decided now is the time to stop talking as she can see where this is going.

Is that what Lydecker meant by he let his wife down? Had his involvement with some government operation and the CIA gotten her killed?

"Max I was part of secret missions for this government that the world can never know about." Lydecker just says it, Max will eventually discover about his life before Manticore.

Lydecker takes another deep breath. "I was the captian of a top secret project before Manticore came into the picture. Because it was something that highly implicates the government they had to make sure that no one could talk."

"So they killed everyone." Max states, that's what Lydecker taught them at Manticore from kids. Don't leave loose ends and that pretty much describes Lydecker, he leaves no loose ends.

"That would've been the best route." Lydecker breathes low. "Everyone was disposed of…except me, we came to an agreement."

"An agreement? What kind of an agreement?" Max carefully asks as she can tell that this is something that Lydecker has probably never shared with anyone.

"That I would go through a program that will basically make me forget the things that I was involved in." He takes a deep breath as he thinks on these things.

"They of course think that it worked… but…" Lydecker then turns to Max and looks her in the eye. "…I don't forget anything." He states flatly and then turns his attention back to the road ahead.

Immediately Max remembers when she and Zack had _kidnapped_ Lydecker to find Brin and had him tied up and blindfolded. She remembered how he could recall her voice from the genetics conference. It was creepy how he could remember some random voice like that. And if he could remember a voice like that, then he probably could've remembered her face too. That's why she didn't have too much of a problem removing the blindfold because he already knew what she looked like then.

This also explains how he could draw up a mug shot of her to put on that wanted poster that came very close to how she really looked.

She also recalls when she thought that Ben had been killed and she went to identify the body and found that it wasn't Ben. When Lydecker suddenly showed up and then announced Ben's john doe case number like he was standing outside practicing it or something. _We're here to take possession of john joe 20-541._ It wasn't a long number but it's the way that he parroted it out, like it was branded into his memory or something.

As soon as Logan and the other's gets back to his penthouse, he heads straight for his computer and searches for Lydecker's DOD files.

"And?" Zack asks as he comes into the office. Tinga's husband and son is there, so they first went and made some small chat so that they don't suspect anything.

"It's all gone. Everything." Logan has looked everywhere but Donald Lydecker no longer exists. Logan types a whole bunch of stuff on his keyboard before he sits back and announces. "Lydecker no longer exists."

"If only it was that easy." Tinga sarcastically comments as she and Brin enters his office and closes the door.

"So what is our plan of action?" They all look to Zack. It's time for him to step up and lead them.

He crosses his arms. "I don't know."

"There's something that I need to share." Logan has decided that it's time to come clean about his side of the Lydecker story.

Logan told them everything from the night of the DNA lab take down, to Lydecker checking up on him weeks after that. He told them about the phone calls and then he told them about the other day. "He promised me that if I do anything to hurt Max, he will hunt me down and slaughter me himself. And I believed every word." Logan looks over to Zack. It's probably his reaction that counts the most.

Zack looks at Logan with that real 'Zack' look and then he slightly moves closer as he cocks his head to the side. "You don't have to worry Logan, there will be nothing left for him when I'm done with you." His tone bordering on a threat.

Logan and Zack glare at each other.

"Nah." Logan pulls a dismissive face. "Nowhere near as threatening."

Before things escalates Tinga speaks. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

Logan gestures to Brin. "Same as her, I wasn't sure what to make of it and decided to wait until things are clearer."

Brin looks at Logan, she's happy that at least someone understands how she felt.

"But I never spoke to Max, I tried to drop hints to start a conversation about Lydecker but nothing ever came of it and I decided not to push." Logan gestures with his hands. "And I'll tell you this also. When Lydecker phoned after the Terminal City incident and said that Max was fine and that she's with him…I was relieved. I truly believe that Lydecker won't harm her in anyway." Logan looks to Brin as she was there when he phoned Lydecker but got Max on the line instead.

"What do you mean after the incident?" Zack questions.

"After the incident we couldn't find Max anywhere, she was missing. She wasn't inside Terminal City, she wasn't taken into custody, she wasn't taken to the infirmary. She was nowhere to be found." Logan explains.

"How did she get to Lydecker?" Zack suspiciously asks.

Logan lifts his shoulders, he doesn't know.

"Do we think that Max knows?" Brin softly asks.

"Knows what? About how she got to Lydecker after the incident or that the man that has brutally trained and tortured us as kids is her father?" Tinga questions with a disgusted tone.

There's silence as everyone thinks.

Logan remembers that Max told him that she doesn't know why she saved his life at the genetics conference, so she didn't know then but then that night when they were on their way to take out the DNA lab, it seemed like Max was avoiding him. Did she maybe find out then?

"You remember when we were looking for Lydecker so that we can find Brin?" Zack asks Logan as he glances at Brin. "We looked up his files and we discovered that his wife has been murdered and the killer was never found?"

"Yeah." Logan remembers.

"And I said ' _he probably did it himself_?" Logan intently watches Zack as he speaks.

"She gave me this look." Zack uses his hand to emphasize as he frowns. "Not a look that said _you've just insulted my father_ , but still it was a look that disapproved of my comment."

After some silence Tinga speaks. "So what do we do now?"

Brin and Tinga follows Zack's eyes to Logan.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" He asks.

"As much as I don't like to admit this, Max will probably open up more to you than to me." Zack admits that he'd rather have that privilege but he knows that Max will probably open up to her _boyfriend_ instead of him.

* * *

TBC...

Thanks for reading :)  
Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	10. Chapter 10 Bombing

A few days later Logan decides that he will rather go to Max's apartment to go talk to her about Lydecker. It may deter her from talking about this sensitive matter where the others can hear.

Logan is sitting in his car outside of Max's apartment waiting for her to come home after work when he sees her bumping into OC.

As Max enters the building where she is sharing an apartment with OC, she turns right into her as she is on her way out.

"Hey Max." She cheerfully greets.

"Hey, where you off to?" Max asks as it's nightfall.

"I'm off to meet up with a friend." She cheerfully replies.

"Well, have fun." Max encourages her.

"Oh yes, a package come for you but I think that person may have the dates wrong." OC waves as she shouts over her shoulder as she walks away.

Max heads straight to their apartment to see what this 'package' is.

As Max enters through the door and turns into the living room she freezes as she lays her eyes on a bunch of balloons.

Not just any balloons. Red balloons. With Happy Birthday written on them.

Immediately her memories flashes through her mind of that day when she spotted that red balloon stuck in the trees and she pointed it out to Zack and he retrieved it for her. The commanding officer started shouting at them to get back to training but some of the others attacked him so that she can hold onto the balloon a little longer. And then she saw Lydecker watching her and then she had to let go of the balloon, and so she did, reluctantly.

Max steps closer to the bunch of balloons. There's a card attached.

" _One for every birthday missed."_

And she counts 23. So she's 23 today? She knows her age was kind of around there but she did not know that it's her birthday today.

She smiles, there's only one person that could know that.

A knock at the door brings her out of her thoughts. For a fleeting moment she wonders if it's Lydecker but then again, will he bother to knock?

She opens the door and finds Logan.

"Hey." Logan greets.

"Hey yourself." This is an unexpected visit.

Logan then brings his hand up which has a bottle of wine in it.

"I thought that we need some alone time, my place is slightly crowded." Logan uses that as an excuse why he is here.

Max steps back as she invites him in and takes the bottle. She goes to the kitchen and gets two glasses. She pours and when she comes into the living room she finds Logan standing by the balloons reading the note.

She freezes.

Logan then realizes that she's standing there. "From Lydecker?" He asks as he might as well get into the subject.

"What makes you think that?" Max uses a tone that is supposed to make his suggestion sound ludicrous.

Logan just turns around and smiles as he walks over to her and takes his glass of wine. "Happy Birthday." He lifts his glass to cheers with Max.

Max hesitates for a moment and then clinks her glass softly against Logan's.

Logan then goes to sit on the couch.

"I never told you what happened after…you died or when I thought you had died." Logan still cannot say it without his heart feeling the sting of pain.

"About what?" Max goes to sit on the couch opposite of Logan.

"It's because of Lydecker that I'm still alive… or at least that I have not been captured by Manticore that night." Logan recalls himself holding Max's limp body in this arms.

He tells Max of how Lydecker probably carried him out of the forest. And then of Lydecker's mood when he woke up in the truck.

"He was heartbroken." Logan looks at the ground as he recalls the look on Lydecker's face. "And I'm sure I saw a tear or two." Logan takes a sip from his glass. "I thought that is was because of all those years of hard work that he had blown to pieces." Logan nods his head as if he agrees with that notion.

But then Logan's head goes still as he turns his eyes to Max and they make eye contact. "But we both know that is not what it was."

In that moment Max suddenly feels like she has been caught out, red handed, the truth is out and there is no way for her to explain it away. Max takes a sip from her glass as she looks away not saying anything.

"He called often after that or he would just appear in my living room unannounced." Logan looks to the balloons. " _How are you doing Cale? Are you eating Cale? Drinking won't bring her back Cale._ " Logan start running through the things the Lydecker used to say.

Max turns to Logan and watches him with surprise.

"He kept phoning even after you were back." Logan is still looking at the balloons. " _Where's Max? How's Max doing? Tell her to get out of there as soon as possible_." He never asked about anyone else.

Surprise is now written all over Max's face. She never knew about this.

Logan then turns his gaze back to Max and looks her in the eye.

"I know that he's your father Max." Logan calmly states. But also in an accepting manner. Not in a fighting manner like Zack would've been tossing around.

The expression on Max's face looks like a bucket of ice water has just been thrown into her face. Max was about to get up but then she sits back down and pulls a frown.

"Where did you hear that?" Max tries to use a tone that suggests that it's crazy but she fails miserably.

"It's kind of obvious Max." Logan uses his hands to gesture. "To me anyway."

"He came by the other day." Logan takes a sip from his glass while Max is frozen on the spot. "He threatened that if I do anything to hurt you, he will hurt me." Logan's tone then changes to bring emphasis to what he is about to say next. "It's like he has giving into my care something that is precious to him, something very important…" Logan then looks at Max. "…something like his daughter."

Max drops her eyes as she looks around. She feels like running, she doesn't like these awkward situations that requires explaining.

After some silence Logan speaks again. "How long have you known?" His tone soft and caring not disapproving like she thought it would be.

Max takes a sip from her glass as she thinks back to that night when Lydecker had eventually successfully caught her after 10 years, and then took her to that cheap hotel where he decided that getting hammered was the best tactical move for the situation at hand.

"I found out that night when we went to go rescue Tinga." Max's tone is unsure, unsure whether she should be pleading guilty.

Well technically only the night after that did she find out about the whole _inspired by_ story. But it was the things Lydecker said that night in the hotel that started them off on that path.

A knock on the door interrupts them. Max looks to Logan and then gets up and goes to see who's at the door.

"Zack?" Max asks surprised, he doesn't come around here much since they always hangout at Logan's.

"Maxie I just wanted to….." Zack tries to move to come into Max's apartment but she stops him. If Zack sees those balloons the apocalypse will be upon them.

"I'm busy Zack what do you want?" Max tries to get him to leave.

"Why won't you let me in?" Just like Zack is, he's now suspicious and it needs to be investigated.

Then is strikes him…is Lydecker here?

"Max I just want to talk to you." He tries again to gain entry but Max keeps him out.

Zack then forcefully pushes Max out of the way and basically storms into the apartment.

"Zack!" Max yells at him.

Zack freezes as he finds only Logan standing in the living room.

"I promise we are not making out on the couch." Logan raises his hands in surrender. That'll be hard with the killing virus problem anyway.

Max comes into the living room to see what has happened but finds that the balloons are not there. She then looks at Logan who only looks back at her.

"We're just trying to have some alone-time. Do you mind?" Max points to the door as she speaks to Zack as if he's a teenager.

"Sorry." Zack is embarrassed and decides to leave quickly.

When Zack's out, Max closes the door behind him and leans her head against it. That could've been tragic.

"You ok?" Logan asks as he appears behind her.

Max lifts her head. "Thanks." She thanks Logan for moving those balloons.

Logan only smiles as her.

"Can we please keep this between us?" Max asks, she's really not sure how things will go if the others find out.

"Of course." Logan smiles and nods, always ready to promise her the world.

As Logan makes his way out of Max's apartment building to his car, he starts thinking of how he's going to explain this to the others and how he is going to convince them to go on pretending that they don't know a thing.

* * *

"I saw Logan earlier." Max announces as she enters Lydecker's office.

He of course is busy typing away on his computer.

"He seems to think that you're my father." Max uses a thoughtful tone.

Lydecker turns away from his screen to look at Max. "And, what did you tell him?"

"I asked him where he heard that." Max leans against a table. "He said that it was kind of obvious." Max squints her eyes as she tells him of Logan's response.

"Well if that is so, then Zack and the others are probably not far behind on that conclusion." Lydecker states like the truth was bound to come out sooner or later.

"Talking about them. I've been suspicious lately. Zack has been on my case about you and then all of a sudden he doesn't mention it again." Max tilts her head to the side. "And I have been feeling lately like I'm being watched." Max has caught those glances she gets from all of them. Zack, Brin, Tinga and even Logan.

"You think that Logan told them?" Lydecker asks.

"Hmm." Max squints again as she stares off into space. "I don't know." If Logan did tell them, they either down believe it or…forget it, there's no way that they would know such a thing as the big bad director from Manticore who raised them to be weapons is her father and they all seem as calm and happy as can be. There's no way they would be able to hide that….right?

Max then grabs her bag and heads to her room. As she dumps her bag on the bed, something catches her eye. She turns back to the bed to find a small wrapped box sitting on her pillow. She then remembers about the balloons.

Logan knowing about Lydecker has so caught her off guard and thrown her off her game she has completely forgotten that it's her _birthday_.

"Happy Birthday." Once again Lydecker has managed to silently appear behind Max without her noticing. He places a hand on the back of her head and brushes his hand down as his fingers runs through her hair and he then gives her a kiss on the back of her head.

"What is it?" Max curiously asks. She's actually more curious about what kind of a present Lydecker would give rather than the actual birthday gift itself.

"Open it and find out." Lydecker's voice has a tone of _that would be the logical thing to do_.

Picking it up, Max takes the paper off, opens the box and finds a pair of small hoop earrings inside.

"They are made from a specific alloy that deflects electromagnetic signals." Lydecker's tone is one of almost giving a sales pitch as to why these ear rings should be funded by the committee.

Max mental smirks, _I knew it_ , this is such a _Lydecker_ present.

"We never know when Manticore or the conclave decides to get clever and start to track that implant in your head again." Lydecker always has a purpose to everything.

"Manticore tried to remove the piece of implant that is stuck in my head because it causes the seizures to be more aggravated at times but apparently the doctors couldn't do much as they are not experienced with the technology. So I still have the damn thing stuck in my head." Max explains about this bothersome thing.

Maybe if she knew the problems that the thing would cause her, she probably would've tried to save OC in another way and not rashly stuck the thing into her own head.

"I wasn't aware of that." Lydecker speaks like he is still the director of Manticore and somebody didn't fill him in on it. "How did you get that implant?" Lydecker questions. He had wondered how one of the things that he wanted nowhere near any of his _kids_ ended up in Max's head. He was very unhappy when he found out about it.

"It's a long story." Max really doesn't feel like retelling it. He would probably disapprove.

"Funny, that's the same answer Zakes gave me." His tone is now suspicious.

"Who's Zakes?" Max questions as he looks to Lydecker.

"He is the person that heads the project of neuro implant technology of the South Africans." He informs.

"Sounds like you know him." Max points out.

"I do." Lydecker gives a nod.

"They tried to capture me to as a 'Manticore prototype'." Max pulls a disgusted face.

"Is that so…." Lydecker's voice turns dark as he lifts his head and he gets that dangerous look in his eye. He will have to have a _talk_ with Zakes about that. The thought that Manticore would experiment on Max was bad enough but the thought of someone else using his little girl for experimentation is to declare war.

"How do you know him? They didn't seem to be working with Manticore." Max asks as she studies the earrings. She notices the patterned design, it's not just some bland boring jewelry but plain enough not to be flashy. The color is a tinted bronze that'll fit her hear color perfectly and matches her eyes.

"They're actually the opposition. I traded them classified Manticore information and in return they tracked the implant in your head." Lydecker is still staring off into nothing as he explains. He's wondering in what manner of an approach he should _talk_ with Zakes. Zakes has been a friend of sorts and Lydecker never had a problem with him but he cannot let this go unaddressed.

"And Renfro was cool with that? Trading top secret stuff about Manticore?" Max asks as she puts the earrings on.

"No." Lydecker confirms with a stern tone. "They tried to kill me after that."

"So that's what pushed Renfro over the edge?" Max inquires as she turns to the mirror to look at the earrings.

"It was after I disposed of agent Sandoval who was canoodling with her behind my back that probably was the last straw." Lydecker briefly thinks back to when he had placed a spying mic in the pen that he switched with Sandoval's one and how Sandoval and Renfro was talking about him behind his back. He knew at that moment that his days at Manticore was numbered one way or another. Therefore, he had to get to Max before they did.

"Brin told us some stuff about what happened on the inside. It does sound like they were turning you out." Max notes to him but doesn't go into detail. She's not too sure how he might react about someone talking about him behind his back.

"That bitch even turned Brin against me. And to be honest that actually hurt having one of my own kids turn against me."

Max pulls a skeptic look but Lydecker can't see it. _He does realize that there's a whole bunch of his 'kids' that is turned against him, right?_ Zack, Tinga, Syl, Krit, Jondy…

"But Brin was only following orders, Renfro did out rank me. Brin was only doing what she was programmed to do and I don't hold that against her at all." Lydecker turns to look at Max as she is looking in the mirror at the earrings.

Max notices Lydecker watching her in the mirror and she turns around and gives him a deliberate big smile. And in return Lydecker gives her a smile too.

"You're smiling." Max happily announces as she points to him. "I win, 10 points."

* * *

Three weeks later Logan's car pulls up at the train station. Zack, Tinga, Max and Brin is with him. There has been reports that White and his new men has chased a transgenic into the station and is now looking for him or her. So they're here to get to the transgenic before White does.

"Let's split up, we'll cover more ground that way." Zack gives the marching order and then everyone is out of the car and heads for the station.

Max and Brin makes their way through the main terminal. It is a big station with two floors so this may take some time. Brin tells Max she'll go up stairs and Max continues on to the departure terminal.

Someone familiar catches Max's eye and she's sure it's Lydecker. What is he doing here? As she gets closer, she finds that it is him.

"What are you doing here?" Max asks as she comes up next to him.

"White and his team has a new communications van that I am interested in." Lydecker informs Max. Lydecker seems to be on a collecting spree with information about White and his cult. It's like an obsession he seems to have.

Brin who is on the next floor up spots Max and Lydecker and watches them. See tries to use her hyper hearing to listen to what is being said but there's too much noise in the terminal to hear anything specific.

The next moment Lydecker turns and grabs Max. And at that moment Brin gets ready to pounce at his action but then…nothing…

...

There's people screaming as Zack and Tinga falls to the ground as it shakes. There's dust everywhere, people running and shouting, their ears are ringing.

It was an explosion.

"Are you alright?" Zack's head is ringing as someone is trying to shake him. He looks around and finds Logan has appeared from somewhere and has helped Tinga to her feet and is now trying to get him up.

"What happened?" Zack is still holding his one hand over his ear.

"Looks like an explosion in the station terminal." Logan starts looking around at people running into all directions.

"Where's Max and Brin?" Tinga asks in a shout.

They look at each other and then they start heading into the terminal main hall looking for them. As they come into the open hall, they see Brin slowly making her way down the stairs. She's got a small trial of blood on the side of her face.

"Brin!" Tinga runs forwards and helps her down the last few steps.

"Where's Max?" She shouts as there are still people screaming and their own ears are still ringing.

"Over there." Brin points to where she last saw Max with Lydecker, that's where she is heading.

Tinga and Zack starts moving into that direction as Logan follows behind but stops to help a lady to her feet.

Zack stops dead in his tracks as he rounds a pillar and then just stands and watches.

"What is it?" Tinga asks as she comes up next to him fearing the worst but then also falls silent as she sees what Zack is looking at.

It's Lydecker, lying on the floor, his head is covered with blood. He's clearly got a bad head wound. But in his arms is Max, safely wrapped up.

"Max." Logan has caught up to them but without hesitation he crouches next to Max and lifts Lydecker's arms and finds Max unharmed, her head safely tucked away at Lydecker's chest, yet unconscious.

"Take her." Tinga steps closer and puts Max's arm over her shoulder and then Brin comes along on the other side and they start taking Max toward the exit.

Logan then turns around and looks at Lydecker, he checks his pulse and sighs a relief when he finds one. With all the blood covering his face, he wasn't sure what to expect. Logan then tries to move Lydecker when Zack suddenly appears on Lydecker's other side and helps Logan.

Logan gives Zack a questioning look. "We'll talk about this later, we need to move." White and his men can still be here.

They both put Lydecker's arms over their shoulders and carry him out after Max.

TBC...

* * *

Lydecker killing Sandoval, the story about the implant and Lydecker trading information to the South Africans are seen in Season 1 ep 20 'Meow'

Thanks for reading :)

Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	11. Chapter 11 Protect

As the abandoned hospital where they took Tinga has been raided and is now under police control, they had to go to Logan's penthouse instead. After an unconscious Max and Lydecker has been brought into Logan's house, Zack and Tinga decided to go back to the train station to find out what has happened and maybe that transgenic still needs their help.

They decided that Brin should stay also as she is still a bit shaken up as she was close to the impact of the explosion. At least the small trial of blood that was running down the side of her face thankfully turned out to be only a minor cut.

Max was put on the bed in the spare room and they put Lydecker on the couch where Logan is currently busy cleaning the wound on his forehead. He was clearly struck by an object that was flung through the air by the blast.

Logan dumps another bloodied cotton patch on the side table.

"That's going to need stitches." He comments to himself. He can't do stitches so that's going to be a problem. Logan then starts looking for a plaster in the medical box to use, just to close the wound and stop the bleeding for now.

"I'll do it." A soft voice next to Logan draws his attention.

Logan looks up at Brin who has her arms crossed. Her hair almost completely covering her face, as it always is, almost as if she's trying to hide away.

"You sure?" Logan asks as he has seen how Brin tries to keep her distance from Lydecker. Clearly she's uncomfortable around him but then again, so is everyone else.

She nods and then starts getting the things she needs from the medical kit.

Brin takes a seat as Logan moves to stand next to her. She readies the cotton with disinfectant but then hesitates for a moment as she looks at Lydecker.

"He's out cold." Logan assures her.

"I know." Is her soft response and then she proceeds to properly clean the wound. Clearly Logan has no idea what he was doing.

"You don't have to do this." Logan knows that she probably would not even be here, Brin seems very wary of him.

There's a short silence as she continues.

"I saw them talking… just before the explosion." After cleaning the wound properly, Brin moves to take the needle.

"Who? Lydecker and Max?" Logan assumes that since he found Max in Lydecker's arms.

Brin nods slowly. "Just before it happened…I saw him." Brin's tone tells that she saw Lydecker doing something suspicious.

Logan looks to Brin. "Saw him do what?" He slowly questions as he is watching her intently.

"He grabbed Max and he was …protecting her." Brin softly shares what she observed. Once she realized this, she had that same feeling she did back at Manticore when Lydecker had Max and he was putting his own life on the line so that Manticore couldn't get their hands on her. Well...more like Renfro couldn't get her hands on Max.

Renfro never knew, but she was listening in on part of the conversation she had with Lydecker that night after he escaped and took Max with him. Having hyper-hearing does have it's uses.

 _"You think that I'm going to let you have her?"_ It sounded like Lydecker was ready to start his own personal war with Manticore to protect Max. And after seeing Lydecker instinctively act to protect Max like that has only confirmed her suspicions. He is protective of her.

Brin continues to finish the stitches in a very methodological way, it's the way she is. And this just happens to be the person who taught her to be like that, so there is something in her that just wants to do the best possible job she can at this moment.

After stitching up Lydecker, Brin went back to the spare room where Max is and was sitting next to her when she woke up. At first she was slightly dazed as she was looking around until Brin came into her view.

"Hey, little sister." Brin smiles at Max as she puts her hand on Max's forehead to assure her of her presence.

"What happened?" Max groggily asks as she blinks her eyes into focus and then she brings a hand up and places it behind her head.

"There was an explosion." Brin informs her as she watches Max cradle the back of her head. Nothing should've hit her head...not the way that Lydecker was holding her.

"Where am I?" Max tries to look around, she just hopes this is not a hospital. She can't do hospitals again, creepy things happens there.

"You're at Logan's." Brin assures her of her safety.

Max's eyes just slid closed as she relaxed when she suddenly opens them again and moves to sit up. _Lydecker…_

"Where is…" Max's words dies on her lips as she remembers that Brin won't be all that eager to suddenly hear about Lydecker.

"Lydecker?" Brin softly finishes her sentence.

Max looks to Brin, trying to hide her expression of surprise and then worry but she's not completely successful.

"He's on the couch." She gestures as she slightly turns her head. "He's fine, got a whole lot of stitches though." Brin whispers to her. This thing with having their worst nightmare, namely Lydecker as Max's father is really hard to juggle. "He'll probably have a concussion too."

Max wants to get up and go see for herself if he is ok but she's also wary of Brin's presence. She will definitely pick up that something is going on if she shows any signs of care or worry about Lydecker.

After Max looks at Brin for a while, Brin turns her eyes away. She's not sure what Max is looking for. Max also turns her gaze away, 'why can't Brin look her in the eye all of a sudden?'. Her heart starts beating faster. Max then wonders if Logan had told them about her relation to him.

"You're awake." Logan steps through the door and Brin moves so that Logan can come closer.

"You're alight?" Logan asks as Brin decides to give the two a moment and slips out the door and Logan takes a seat on the chair.

Brin goes to the kitchen but watches Lydecker, still out cold on the couch, with every move she makes. Her second _stay_ at Manticore wasn't as bad. Lydecker didn't personally really do anything to her. He wasn't even there when she went through re-indoctrination. But she's wary of him because after the re-indoctrination she was ready and happy to do anything and everything he said. Well that was until Renfro came into the picture. But she's afraid that if Lydecker now tells her what to do, that the re-programming will still be there and she will do as he says. But not just that, what if Lydecker is holding a grudge against her for taking Renfro's orders as priority over his?

So she stays standing behind the kitchen counter looking into the living room watching for any movement.

"I'm fine Logan." Max assures Logan, she doesn't want to be fussed over.

"You're fine because of Lydecker really." Logan's words gets her attention.

"Brin says she saw the two of you talking when Lydecker suddenly grabbed you and shielded you from the blast." Max looks at Logan like a deer caught in head lights as she listens to what happened. She vaguely remembers Lydecker suddenly pulling her close but she can't remember anything else. So that's why Brin is acting slightly strange?

"I had to untangle you out of his arms." Logan informs her with caution of what happened. "That's because Zack and Tinga wouldn't go near him."

"They saw?" She barely whispers to Logan with some panic in her tone.

He nods.

This is going to take a lot of explaining.

She puts her head in her hands and messages it.

"I'll be right back." The phone ringing in Logan's office echoes through the hall.

Logan goes to answer the phone and it's Zack informing them that they have found the transgenic and they are going to take him to a safe place. They'll be back only much later.

When Logan comes back he finds Max leaning against the door way to the living room watching Lydecker on the couch.

"Zack helped me." Logan tells Max of how he ended up on the couch.

"The kettle has boiled. I'm going for a walk." Brin speaks from the kitchen and then not too long, the front door opens and closes, signaling her leave.

"I'll make coffee." Logan says as he walks past Max towards the kitchen.

Max slowly follows after Logan and as she walks past Lydecker with her arms folded, she's looking at the wound on his head, the stitches, the dried blood in his hair and the bruising that's starting to become visible.

"Brin did the stitching. In case you were wondering." Logan tells her from the kitchen as he is watching Max looking at Lydecker.

"Here." Logan comes up next to Max and holds out a cup of coffee.

"I'm going to monitor the news channels, it's quite crazy." Logan tells her and then he goes to his office. He figured maybe Max doesn't want a crowd right now.

Max sits down on the chair where she assumes Brin was sitting to do the stitches. She wonders why Brin would do that. She also wonders why Zack would help. She figures it's only because Logan was involved and that's why they didn't just leave him there. Surely they don't know that Lydecker is her _father_ , because if they did, they would've killed him already.

Feeling the urge to reach out and place her hand on his head, Max decides against it as Logan is there and might see. She doesn't want to rock the boat any more than what it is already rocking.

About two hours later of sitting next to Lydecker, there's movement.

He squeezes his and then opens and blinks trying to clear his vision. His head is pounding and spinning at the same time, he feels very dizzy and his vision is blurry. He then spots Max sitting next to him. He blinks a few more times and then tries to focus on Max but is unsuccessful.

"I didn't touch the alcohol." Lydecker's first words like he wants her to know that he didn't have alcohol since she chucked his stash down the drain. Like he had to report to her that he has not failed, like he doesn't want to let her down.

Max smiles choosing to rather see the sarcasm in the situation.

Lifting his hand, Lydecker brings it to his pounding head.

"Careful the stitches." Max hears herself saying, there's a touch of care in her tone and she hopes that Logan didn't hear that.

Lydecker carefully feels his forehead and the side. It's quite a lot of stitches. He continues to blink to try and get his focus back but he knows this is a concussion. He's had enough of them from battle field explosions to know.

"What happened?" He asks as he puts his hand down.

"White's men was shooting at the transgenic they were chasing and ended up shooting a gas line." Logan informs them as he comes into the room.

Lydecker freezes up realizing that there's someone else there. _He needs to get up._ He moves to sit up when Max places her hand on his shoulder.

"Stay down, you've got a concussion." Lydecker pulls a face that clearly says _I know_.

"We're at Logan's. Everybody else has ditched." Max assures him that there's nothing he has to get up for, it's only them.

"White is saying that it's the transgenic that caused the explosion but there are numerous eye witness that is coming forward saying that it was White's men who was firing weapons around the gas lines." Logan continues to tell them what is going on. "He made it out, Zack and Tinga found him. He's injured so they took him to Lynda and then they'll take him to the city limits while I get ID documents ready." Logan then informs them of the plans.

The front door opens and then Brin appears a moment later.

"Here." Brin hands Max a paper bag.

Max looks inside of the bag and finds meds for a concussion and pain. For a moment she wonders why Brin would do that and looks at her with a hint of question.

"So that he can get out of here quicker." Brin softly explains her actions.

"Brin." Lydecker whispers. He knows it's her even though he's got his eyes closed, he recognizes her voice.

Brin didn't realize he was awake. She quickly turns and disappears down the hall and then they hear the spare room door closing behind her.

Max looks back to Lydecker. This is going to be interesting, trying to juggle this. Hopefully Zack and Tinga doesn't come back before they leave. She can already feel the awkwardness seeping into her bones.

That night when she dragged him into the warehouse where Logan, Zack, Krit and Syl was preparing to come and rescue her, she used the excuse that he was going to help them bring down Manticore and that justified his presence there. But now there really is no useful reason for Lydecker to be on Logan's couch.

The phone rings again and Logan goes to the office.

As soon as he's out of the room, Lydecker suddenly moves to push himself up into sitting position. Max grabs him by his jacket and helps him to sit up.

Lydecker looks around the room but Max can see that he's struggling to focus.

"Here." Max opens the bag and takes out the tables and gives him two of each. "I'll get water."

"No need." Lydecker puts the tablets into his mouth and chews and swallows them dry.

"Who chews tablets dry?" Max whispers to him in slight annoyance.

"I need to get on my feet." Lydecker softly announces as he leans forward and balances himself with his hands on either side of him waiting for the dizziness to leave.

"You need to lie down." Max whispers back at him.

Lydecker sighs knowing that Max is right. He won't be running around soon in this condition.

"At least wait until morning." Max tries to get him to not get up and hurt himself.

"That's in less than three hours' time." Lydecker informs Max.

Max looks around for a clock or a watch but sees nothing. "How do you even know that?" Whispering.

After a short sigh Max speaks up. "White and friends are not going to conquer the planet within the next 24 hours." Max uses a ludicrous example to tell him that it's ludicrous for him to get up now.

Lydecker looks at Max as he seems to agree. He then brings his hand up and briefly cups Max's chin as he strokes his thumb over her cheek. "Are you alright?" She can see the concern in his eyes.

Max nods to him. What was he thinking? Between the two of them, he would be the one who needs all the help he can get, why protect her? Max looks at him and then smiles slightly. She knows why.

Coming out of the office, Logan finds Brin peering around the corner at Max and Lydecker, watching them interact. She just spares Logan a glance and then goes back to watching them.

This feels so weird.

He's still the same Lydecker. The same expressions, the same commanding voice. But he's so different with Max. From the moment that Brin was back at Manticore, Lydecker only addressed her like a soldier. But Max, he doesn't treat her like that. He treats her differently. With gentle tenderness...

"I need coffee." Max gets up and heads for the kitchen.

Placing his head in his hands, Lydecker recalls what happened. The last thing he remember was that flashing he caught in the corner of his eye. He knows that flashing that happens just before the actual explosion occurs. He remembers grabbing Max to shield her. Silly of him really, she has a lot better chance than him but he just reacted out of instinct and that was to protect her.

A loud clattering of keys on the table next to him brings him out of his thoughts and he finds his car keys has been dumped next to him on the coffee table.

"I was tempted to fence it."

Looking up he finds Zack looking down at him. Even though he is sitting and has a concussion he manages to return the glare and wins as Zack looks away when Max comes into the living room with coffee.

Lydecker looks at his keys lying on the coffee table next to him. How did Zack get them? It's supposed to be in his pocket. He then looks around at Logan's living room and then wonders how he ended up here. He then listens to Max and Zack talk. At least he is not tied to a chair with a blindfold on this time.

From what he heard from Max, Zack is his old self. Angry, suspicious and still has a vendetta against him. Lydecker then supposes that Logan didn't say anything to them about him and Max, because if Zack knew, that glare would've developed into something far worse.

"Zack." Max acknowledges him as he comes towards her.

"Maxie, are you ok?" Zack asks as he looks for anything wrong with her.

"I'm fine." Max declares with a smile.

"Where's Brin?" Zack asks after glancing into the kitchen and finding it empty.

"She's here." Max nods with her head towards the hallway and Zack disappears into that direction without sparing her or Lydecker another look. Focus, keep focus and move away from him...

"Here." Max hands Lydecker a cup of coffee.

Zack and Brin exchanges looks as Zack finds her watching them from around the corner of the hallway. They then turn and go to Logan's office. He told them after his chat with Max about Lydecker being her father, that Max knows and that it's probably better to say nothing until Max is the first one to mention it. But to be honest, it's taking everything that Zack has not to jump into the situation and start interrogating and accusing left right and center.

The phone rings again. It's like a reception desk in here, Max thinks to herself as she hears the phone. It never used to be this busy around here.

The next moment Logan, Zack and Brin comes out into the living room.

"What's happening?" Max questions with some worry. Clearly something is up.

"It's Tinga, she's being tailed by White." Logan informs her of the situation.

"Do you need my help?" Max asks not really wanting to leave Lydecker alone but she's not going to say that out loud.

"We'll be fine, you stay here." Zack answers and then he and Brin is out the door. They just had a whole discussion in the office about leaving Max alone with Lydecker, and Logan eventually convinced them that it's fine he will still be here in his own house. Or isn't he good enough? That really is the way that Zack came across, but then again that is his normal demeanor.

Max looks as Zack and Brin leave. She can see that they both are packing weapons. Max then turns around and looks at Lydecker and then she glances up as she notices Logan is watching them. They make brief eye contact and then Logan turns and goes back to his office. There's that look again, the look that she has been getting from all of them as of late.

"Are you alright?" Max leans in as she watches Lydecker. The wound on his forehead is really looking bad but Brin did a really good job of fixing it. She has to admit that Manticore training does have it's uses.

"I'm fine." Lydecker responds as he is holding his head in his hands again.

"Yeah right." Max's tone is skeptical, there's no way he is fine. If this was a normal situation with normal people, he'd be in the hospital right now.

Lydecker slowly lifts his head and gives Max a look that says _You don't believe me?_

He then lifts his hand to touch the stitching again when Max takes hold of his arm and gently pulls it way.

"Leave it alone. It's done perfectly." Max has noticed that Lydecker is a perfectionist about certain things. Somethings just has to be straight and perfect or it bothers him non-stop. "Brin did it." Max adds, hopefully Lydecker will now believe her. Surely he knows that Brin has proper medical training and knows what she is doing.

The front door opens and slams shut with some force and then Brin comes marching past them, clearly in a huff, she heads straight for the spare room and then that door is also slammed with a bit of force.

Logan comes past and gives Max a glance and then continues on to the spare bedroom. He'll find out what's going on.

"Brin?" Logan softly knocks on the door.

There's a soft yes and so Logan sticks his head in.

"What's wrong?" He asks as it's very out of character for Brin, she's always quiet, soft and slowly methodological like that.

"Apparently I am not fit for duty." Brin's tone has a hint of attitude. She then sighs. "I'm dizzy and that's going to put the entire mission at risk." Brin uses a slightly dramatic hint to her tone, she's clearly upset.

Max turns back as she was using her hyper-hearing to listen in on the conversation.

"Zack has a way to get under your skin like that." She comments to herself.

About an hour later Logan goes to the kitchen to get coffee and finds Lydecker is lying down on the couch with Max next to him on the chair. She has pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees with her arms hooked over her legs at the ankles and she's just watching Lydecker.

Logan wonders what is going through her mind at the moment and wants to ask _penny for your thoughts…_

Max was trying to keep her life with Logan and the others separate from her _secret_ life with Lydecker as much as possible and now here he is smack bang in the middle of all of them. They all seem to keep at bay and keep their distance, so far no one has started protesting about his presence here and no one has attempted to throw him out. So there is definitely something going on here, they are all acting in a very different way than what she was expecting.

What if they know..

…What if they _do_ accept him, well at least in a manner that they don't have murderous intentions towards him…? But no, there's a major breach between the two realities that'll never be brought together. ...Really? How is it going to be like if they do accept him in such a way… _hey there, Max's dad…_

"I'll send her now." Logan puts the phone down and then hands Brin a brown envelope that contains the transgenic's new identity and papers.

"So I'm deemed fit for duty?" Brin asks with some hint of sarcasm. Logan just gives her a small playful smile.

Brin has been hanging around Logan since last night. It's almost like Brin wants to be around someone and know that there is someone else here besides Lydecker. Logan can see that she is not comfortable with him around.

After taking the envelope, Brin softly makes her way to the front door. As she passes, she watches Lydecker who is lying on the couch and appears to be asleep with Max sitting on the chair next him, also asleep with her head resting on her knees. She didn't move from Lydecker's side all night long.

...

"Here." Brin holds out the envelope to Zack. They are at a bus stop where Tinga and Zack had brought the transgenic. After handing him his papers, they wish him luck and after Zack gives him a few words of instruction, he's on the bus.

"Is Lydecker still there?" Tinga asks as they are making their way back to Logan's penthouse.

"Hmm." Brin confirms that it is so.

"Let's go for breakfast instead." Zack offers, he's not really interested in doing this now.

"I still can't believe it." Tinga comments as she takes a sip of her coffee. "Max's father." The image of Max wrapped up in Lydecker's arms still fresh in their minds.

They are sitting at a diner and are now waiting for their breakfast to be served.

"It's weird." Brin adds as she's staring at her coffee.

"What was Lydecker even doing there? What was he holding Max for?" Zack's suspicion evident. He will take anything and everything to make trouble out of this.

"I saw them."

Tinga and Zack looks to Brin. "Saw them what?"

"Just before the explosion. I saw them, they were talking. The next moment Lydecker turned and grabbed Max and pulled her to himself. I was about to jump into the situation when the blast happened." Brin quickly glances up from her coffee. "He was protecting her." Her voice soft but frank. This is probably not what they want to hear, but that's what she saw.

Zack and Tinga remains silent and then their food arrives.

"I've been watching them all night." Brin continues. "I think that Logan is right. It really doesn't seem like Lydecker means Max any harm."

"But he _did_ us harm. He _did_ Max harm." Zack emphasis the fact that Lydecker did already hurt them back at Manticore.

Brin remembers last night when Lydecker brought his hand up and briefly cupped Max's chin and softly stroked his thumb over her cheek. _"Are you alright?"_ She could hear his voice had concern in it, genuine concern.

"That's changed now." Brin softly speaks but she comments it to herself as she is in thought.

Zack and Tinga shares a glance and then they continue to eat.

"So Max only became his _daughter_ now and hasn't been his _daughter_ for the last 20 something years since she was a kid from Manticore?" Tinga just puts it out there with an accusing tone. That's the question that has been going around in her mind. "What exactly has changed that Lydecker is now suddenly all caring and is no longer the cold monster that we know from Manticore?" Tinga's voice has venom in it, she is not changing her grudge against Lydecker, certainly not after what he did with their son.

"I would guess it's because Manticore is no longer in the picture." Brin's tone has a hint of guess in it.

After a short silence and a few bites of food later Brin speaks up again.

"Last night Logan asked me if red balloons with 'happy birthday' written on them has any significance. I choose not to answer him." Brin informs them.

Zack looks up at Brin and then slightly tilts his head. Immediately the dots connect in his head.

After that they quickly finished their food and they now find themselves at Max's apartment. OC is gone so they have freedom to freely investigate Max's room and this is where they find themselves standing. They are standing in her room staring at a bunch of red balloons in the corner. The three of them are silent as flashes of that day back at Manticore plays through their minds.

 _Max with her army cut hair was tugging at Zack's arm and then pointed to the balloon._

Zack steps forward and turns the card over.

"One for every missed birthday." Zack reads the card out loud.

"23" Tinga counts the balloons. "Who else would know that?"

* * *

Lydecker and Renfro had the phone conversation in Season 1 ep 21

I can't remember in what episode the red balloon appears.

Thanks for reading :)

Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	12. Chapter 12 Implant

After returning to Logan's penthouse, they find that Lydecker's car is no longer there. Maybe he left.

They proceed to make their way up to Logan's floor, they now feel better about the situation. It doesn't feel like there is an enemy inside the gates anymore.

Entering the front door they find only Logan home. They then hear that Max and Lydecker both left.

* * *

Lydecker was woken up by Max and the roles have all of a sudden switched as Max was the one who wanted to leave as soon as possible. It turns out that Max felt a seizure starting to creep up on her and she'd rather go _home_.

After Max assured Lydecker that she's fine to drive because he most certainly was not, they made it about half way until Lydecker took hold of the wheel and insisted that he continued to drive as Max was no longer in the condition to. She had started to shake but the shakes was strong and not like the previous time, they were more severe, sharper. She kept on massaging the back of her head where the piece of implant is still stuck and she blamed the impending seizure on the implant acting up again.

"This is going to be a bad one." Max comments as she puts an arm over Lydecker's shoulder and he helps her from the car to the couch. He then goes to the kitchen to mix the cocktail of chemicals to help with the seizure.

"Here you go." When Lydecker comes back he finds her on the couch curled up in a fetal position in hopes that she can control the shakes.

Max only looks at the cup like she is wondering if it's even worth the effort to get up but then she finally pushes herself up. She leans forward as she is shaking and Lydecker can clearly tell that this is not a normal seizure.

Taking a seat next to Max, he holds the cup out to her. She puts her hands over his on the cup but Lydecker doesn't let go so that he can steady the cup as she sips from it.

When the cup is empty Max's eyes darts around the room like she is looking for something to do to make the seizure stop, anything. She then pulls her legs up and hugs them to her chest as she turns against the backrest of the couch with her back to Lydecker. Max starts to rub her head on her knees as she shakes.

Lydecker's face pulls into a painful expression as he watches Max. He doesn't like to see her like this. He then takes her by the shoulders and pulls her back so that she is slightly leaning into his lap and then he turns her so that her head is lying on his chest tucked under his chin. He wraps his one arm around her and places his other hand behind her head pulling her close.

"Damn accursed implant." Max mumbles and the pain is clearly evident in her voice.

The expression of pain finds its way onto Lydecker's face again. He can feel how her body is tensing and shaking with the seizure. He remembers when she was still at Manticore before they ran away, he remembered when Max's seizures first started. He remembers watching her in the infirmary. He so badly wanted to take it away but there was nothing that he could do. All that he could do was wait for the doctors and then the medicine to do their work. And that's how he feels now but at least now he can freely express his concern for Max.

Lydecker then wonders to himself if that blast they were in yesterday have maybe upsetted the implant perhaps? He has never seen Max hold the back of her head but since he woke up on Cale's couch, he has noticed Max continually rub the back of her head and neck.

Moving his head, Lydecker places a lingering kiss on Max's head and then lays his cheek on top of her head. "It's okay." He whispers to her.

Lydecker's whisper ' _it's okay'_ triggers a memory and Max remembers sitting in the genetics conference after they were taken hostage. _Give me the gun…carefully…._ Max remembers Lydecker's voice as he told Kendra to give him the gun. How did she even end up with his gun in the first place? She remembers Lydecker whispering behind her ' _it's okay',_ the way he whispered it made it seem like everything was going to be okay but at that moment Max knew that a gun in Lydecker's hand was anything but okay.

But here she now is, wrapped up in his arms and it's okay.

It's okay.

Max had finally fallen asleep after a few very long hours of shaking with the seizure. From time to time she would mumble something incoherent as she was slipping in and out of consciousness. She would just drift off when she would shake again.

Looking down at Max with her head now resting in the crook of his arm, Lydecker is gently stroking his thumb over her temple. He looks at Max's face and thinks of Juaneve. It's quite amazing how much Max actually looks like his wife. Even Carter picked that up.

She's got her eyes, that's what he told her and that's what got him into trouble. But now Lydecker looks down at her at the other things that she also has, the slightly tinted skin color, the rounded cheeks, even the curly hair, all like Juaneve.

For a moment Lydecker's thoughts starts to wander and he wonders how Max may have looked like if she was his actual biological daughter. Would her hair still have been dark? Would she still have had brown eyes? Would she of been shorter maybe?

Lydecker's jaw tightens as he looks at Max. Now 23 years later is not the time to ponder things like that. This is the reality, here they are and this is who they are. Max may not be his daughter biologically but in every other aspect he sees her as his daughter.

He smiles and then he places a soft kiss on her forehead. She has accepted that and seems happy with it…she seems happy with having him as her father. And that is nothing short of a miracle.

After sitting with her for a long time after that, Lydecker's head starts to pound again as the pain meds have started to wear off some time ago. Shifting slightly, he digs his hand into his pocket and fishes out the bottle of pills.

"Please don't go." Max mumbles as she slightly tightens her grip on his jacket.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying right here." He assures her as he pops the pill bottle open and then takes out two tables. He puts them in his mouth dry and starts chewing them.

"Who chews tables dry?" Max mumbles again.

"I do." Lydecker answers but he's sure that she's only drifting in and out of consciousness due to the chemical that is now flowing through her system.

In the middle of a battle field there's no time to go get a glass of water. That's where he learned to get on without water and it just stuck with him since. In some way, his mind is still living on that battle field, still surviving on that battle field.

After placing the bottle of pills on the side table, Lydecker goes back to gently stoking his thumb over Max's temple.

* * *

"Max, are you ok?" OC asks as she watches Max come into the kitchen at Jam Pony. She doesn't look too well.

Max just shakes her head as she puts her bag on the table and starts digging through it.

"What's wrong? Forgot lunch?" OC asks as she can see that Max was clearly expecting to pull something out of her bag but it's not there.

Max starts to panic as she realizes that she forgot to put it in her bag before she left this morning. Lydecker had put like a pre-mix together of the chemical concoction that helps with her seizures so that she at least have it with her if she's too far away from the house.

A worried look finds it's way onto OC's face as she still gets no answer and then she realizes that Max is starting to shake.

"Alec!" OC's voice rings through Jam Pony and then the next moment he comes running.

"What's up?" Alec asks as OC pulls him into the kitchen.

"It's a seizure." Alec notes as he spots Max on the chair shaking.

"Thanks for the observation, master of the obvious." OC hits him with sarcasm. "She needs you to take her to Logan's."

Alec's face turns blank. "Um about that…Max it's not that I don't want to help you but I'm not going there."

Max frowns at Alec. "Why not?" Her voice is starting to turn weak.

"Never mind I'll phone Logan." OC pushes past Alec and goes to grab Normal's phone.

"What's wrong with Logan's place? You never had a problem strutting about like you owned the place." Max works some comical tone into her statement as she is shaking.

"No thanks, I hear that the people hanging around there associates with ghosts from the past." Alec doesn't even want to mention Lydecker's name. After he was there the last time and found out that they had been working with Lydecker on the outside, he decided that he is not going to run the risk of running into Lydecker. So he is going to stay as far away from there as possible.

As Max fails to speak as the shaking is getting worse, she just pulls him a frown.

"Your sisters are on their way. They'll meet you outside. Come, you're helping." OC grabs Alec by the arm and pulls him over to Max. They then put Max's arms over their shoulders.

"Where are you going?" Normal asks as OC and Alec comes past him with a Max sort of hanging in between them.

"I think I'm coming down with something." Max innocently offers.

"Yeah, we're taking her to the clinic." Alec adds to the story.

"Before is spreads." OC adds dramatically knowing that Normal doesn't like germs.

"Yeah yeah, just go, get out, pip! Pip!" It always works like a charm.

They only had to wait a few minutes then Tinga and Brin pulled up in Logan's SUV. They decided that it would be best not to take Zack with as he is known at Jam Pony and they didn't want to draw the attention.

They put Max in the back and before they knew it Alec was gone, so OC got into the back with Max holding her as they pulled off.

"It's bad." Brin tells Zack as they put Max on Logan's couch.

"Maxie." Zack crouches in front of her and watches as she is shaking with her one hand holding the back of her head.

Max starts groaning in pain as she squeezes her eyes shut and then she brings up her other hand also and grabs hold of her head. Zack looks at Brin and Tinga, they have never had a seizure this severe.

"Max." Logan comes into the room and crouches next to Zack.

"Phone Lydecker." That's all that Max can get out between the shakes and the groans as she keeps her eyes squeezed shut in pain. "Phone Lydecker."

They all look at each other, not really the words they would like to hear coming out of Max's mouth. And what is Lydecker going to do anyway?

Logan then gets to his feet and heads for his office.

"Who's Lydecker?" OC asks.

"You know him as 'Don'." Zack states with a sense of contempt.

"Oh, didn't know he's a doctor." OC responds with surprise.

"Don?" Tinga asks as it's the first time she hears that name, what else has she missed?

Logan pulls out the burn phone that Lydecker gave him a few weeks ago and hits the dial button. After a few rings there's an answer.

"Yes."

There's no time for small talk.

"It's Max."

After telling Lydecker what was going on, he told Logan to look inside Max's backpack for a container.

"Where's Max's backpack?" Logan asks as he comes out of the office still on the phone.

"She didn't have a backpack with her." Tinga answers.

"If you're looking for something inside of it, it ain't there." OC answers. "Max was also looking for it." She explains.

"There's nothing in her backpack." Logan informs Lydecker, he's not sure what they are looking for.

Lydecker gets up from his chair and heads for the kitchen and there on the countertop the container is standing. She forgot to take it.

"I'm on my way." There's no other way of getting it to Max and without it the seizure will be a lot worse than it has to be. He'll have to take it, even if it will be awkward and uncomfortable with the others that no doubt are there, but he will not let Max suffer any more than what it can be helped.

There's a pause as Lydecker looks at his watch. "ETA 67 minutes. And keep her warm."

As Logan puts the phone down, Brin looks at her watch noting the time. She heard the 67 mins and she starts counting.

Logan gets a blanket and hands it to Zack who throws it over Max.

"Is she going to be ok? She has never had it this bad." OC speaks with worry in her voice. After she found out about Max's seizures, Max would be home when she had one and OC would sit with her and she has never seen it be this bad.

"What's wrong with her?" Tinga asks as she watches Max shake. She's still groaning in pain and holding her head.

There's worry written all over Zack's face. All that he can think of at the moment is when they rescued Brin and she was sick and there was nothing that they could do for her and they let Lydecker take her back to Manticore. And then the next time they saw her, she wasn't Brin anymore, well not the Brin that he knew. He doesn't want the same thing to happen with Max.

"The implant." Logan notes. Max has had an odd seizure here and there and then she would come to him and lie down on this very couch. He has experienced it twice when the seizures got really bad and Max would be cursing the implant.

"That thing." OC states, she remembers that Max stuck that thing into her head so that she can save her from those freak soldiers. "So this is my fault."

"What implant?" Zack asks. This is the first he's hearing of an implant.

"It's a long story." OC answers.

"There's a piece of an implant that has broken off stuck in the back of her head. It causes the seizures to be worse." Logan explains as he is watching Max. "The explosion from two days ago, maybe it had upset it."

"Explosion?" OC asks, she can't keep up with all the things that Max gets herself into.

After about an hour, Brin checks her watch and then she turns and heads for the door.

"Where are you going?" Logan asks.

"It's been 65 minutes. Lydecker should be at the door any moment." Brin explains and then continues towards the front door. Lydecker has always been a stickler for perfect preciseness and timing.

"Milk is boiled." OC calls from the kitchen. She knows that Max drinks warm milk when she's got a seizure so she decided to do that after a long time just hanging around Max watching her suffer.

Before Lydecker gets to Logan's door, it opens and he finds Brin standing on the other side of the door waiting for him to come in. He spares her a glance and then heads inside. The wound on Lydecker's forehead is looking better, the swelling is gone and the bruising has already started to fade but one can still see that the wound is new.

"You've got boiled milk?" Lydecker asks as he takes out a container from his pocket.

"In the kitchen." Logan answers as Lydecker steps into the living room where Max is on the couch. He then heads straight for the kitchen as he knows where it is and as he passes Max he gives a long look. He can tell that she's in pain, like she was last night.

Just as OC had poured the milk into a cup, Lydecker enters.

"Don." OC greets him, she knows who he is as she's seen him a few times dropping Max off or picking her up. Logan doesn't miss it and he wonders just how much part of Max's life Lydecker has become without any of them even noticing it.

"Here." Lydecker takes the cup of milk from OC and then opens the container and pours it into the milk. "Got sugar?"

OC starts looking around.

"Yeah." Logan hands him the sugar pot.

Lydecker then continues to put 8 spoons of sugar in and then stirs it.

"What's in it?" Logan inquires.

"It's got a chemical compound that was used back at Manticore for the treatment of the seizures." Lydecker then gives the cup to Logan.

Taking the cup Logan goes into the living room and gives the cup to Zack as he can't risk touching Max.

Zack takes the cup, looks in it, and then he looks at Lydecker standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He then turns around to Max.

"Max here."

They help her into a sitting position and then Max sips it through the shakes with a small spill here and there. Lydecker watches how Zack, Tinga and Brin rallies around Max. He secretly smiles in his mind, _just like family._

An hour later Max is lying with her head in Tinga's lap still shaking but not as bad. She has stopped groaning in pain and holding her head at least.

Tinga softly strokes her hand over Max's hair trying to comfort her.

"So it's this implant that is causing it?" Zack has eventually decided that Lydecker has to live long enough to help Max. He steps into the kitchen where Logan and Lydecker are having a conversation.

"The explosion from the other day probably upset it." Lydecker explains.

"How can we fix this?" Logan asks.

"I happen to know the people who works with the neuro implant technology that the red soldiers use." Lydecker carefully offers.

"There's no way, we're letting them anywhere near Max." Logan and Zack both answers at almost the same time with the same words. Someone could've said snap.

"We know each other well but I certainly wouldn't trust him and his people alone with Max." Lydecker will have to play his cards well to get them to agree to let them try and fix the implant in Max's head.

"What are you suggesting, that we stand behind them with a gun?" Zack's tone has some sarcasm in it.

"No, not with one gun, with five." Lydecker uses his hands to gesture to imply all of them as his tone suggests that he is dead serious.

Logan thinks about the math. Zack, Tinga, Brin, himself and Lydecker?

"I have already contacted him, he'll be in town this evening." Lydecker has already contacted him in the morning before Max even got this seizure.

"I'm coming with you." Zack states. It's happening, no negotiating.

"You, me and no witnesses?" There's no sarcasm in Lydecker's tone.

Zack just glares back at him.

* * *

"So how do you know this guy?" Zack asks. He appreciated the silence in the car with Lydecker because he really didn't want to make small chat with him and so far Lydecker hasn't said anything to rub him the wrong way but now the silence is getting awkward.

"We served together." His answer short as he takes out the bottle of pills and then proceeds to put two tables in his mouth and chews them dry.

Zack just gives him a glare out of the side of his eye. "And you trust him?" Zack asks while he's got the question of whether they can trust Lydecker nagging at the back of his head.

"We'll see how this meeting goes." Lydecker voice drawls.

Zack remains silent as he continues to give Lydecker a side glare. He then wonders if he should bring up the subject of him and Max while he's got the opportunity.

"Things are different now Zack. Manticore is no longer in the picture." Lydecker starts talking like he knows what Zack has on his mind. "Those days are over now." Lydecker is looking straight ahead not making any eye contact with Zack.

"So that just changes everything? It just erases all of the things that you've done?" Zack's tone is accusing.

"No, it doesn't change the past but it does change the future." Lydecker uses the words that Max told him.

"There he is." Before the conversation can continue, Lydecker spots Zakes.

"I'll be watching." Zack states as they get out of the car. He's going to be close enough to know absolutely everything that happens here.

"Zakes."

Zakes has already ordered food as per usual with their meetings and there's a big smile on his face as he turns around. "Deck."

But as soon as Zakes sees Lydecker's face, the smile on his face disappears.

"That look tells me that you're not here to do business, that look tells me that you're here to kill me." Zakes simply states with all seriousness and then as he notices the wound on the top side of Lydecker's face he was tempted to ask what happened but that was not the moment to get friendly.

"Well that depends on how this meeting goes." Lydecker states in a flat tone.

Lydecker then explains the situation to him.

"We can do that, no problem." Zakes agrees to look at the implant and fix it. "For a spinal sample in return of course." Zakes is right back to doing business.

Zack listens to this, he will kill Lydecker if he takes that offer.

"No." Lydecker states flatly.

Zakes looks at Lydecker. "Ok a vial of her blood, at least." He tries again.

"Not a chance." Lydecker is completely in no mood to negotiate anything that has to do with Max and experimentation.

"How about you fix the implant in the girl's head and I don't shoot you." Just about the only terms and conditions that Lydecker operates by.

"Come on Deck. I have people that I have to answer to." Zakes exclaims.

"You first fix this implant and based upon how well you do it, I'll consider if it's worthy my while." Lydecker doesn't give him any other option.

Zakes raises his hands in surrender. "Ok, let me check how soon this can be done."

"Do it now." Lydecker is as serious as death itself.

Zakes realizes that Lydecker is ready to just shoot him. He knew very well that trying to catch one of Lydecker's runaway kids and use them for experimentation instead of returning them to the man, was looking for trouble and now he has found it. He takes out his phone and makes a phone call.

"A plane is on its way, it'll be here by late tomorrow afternoon. We need about two hours to set up." Zakes informs.

"I'll be in touch." Lydecker then unceremoniously gets up and walks away.

As Lydecker gets into his car, Zack jumps in on the other side. "So what is it that you're going to give him?" Zack gets to the point. If he dares to use Max for anything to do with experimentation, no one will ever see Lydecker again after this day.

"Certainly nothing that has to do with Max." Lydecker will rather shoot them.

The ride back to Logan's was quiet. As they arrive, Lydecker parks his SUV and as he opens his door and is about to get out, he is suddenly grabbed and yanked back.

Lydecker snaps his head around and looks Zack dead in the eye. Lydecker pins him with a glare as he has his hand on his gun out of pure instinct but he doesn't pull it out.

Zack has Lydecker gripped by his jacket and he is returning a deathly glare of his own.

"Lydecker, just so that there is no confusion, I want you to know that if I ever find out that you have, or are, or ever in the future mishandle Max in any way…there will be five of us fighting as to who gets to have you head first." Zack's tone is as threatening as what threatening can get.

After the two of them glare at each other, Lydecker responds in a low tone.

"If I find out that someone is _mishandling_ Max in anyway, I will kill them myself." Lydecker's tone is stern and clear.

After glaring each other down for a few more seconds, Zack releases Lydecker and gets out of the car. Lydecker spends a few moments more in the car as he holds his head with one hand for a brief second, that yanking didn't do the concussion he is recovering from any favors.

"And?" Logan asks as Zack and Lydecker walks in.

"The procedure will take place tomorrow night." Lydecker informs him as he walks over to Max.

Brin is sitting in front of Max on the couch. She only spares Lydecker a glance and then she turns her attention back to Max. Tinga is sitting on the chair just left of Max, leaning in. Max's eyes are closed and seems to be asleep.

"How's she doing?" Lydecker asks from a distance as Max is surrounded and protected.

"My head hurts." Max answers, her voice traced with exhaustion and pain as she squints her eyes open.

"Were just going to trust these people?" Tinga asks as she just heard that the procedure has already been planned, they have not even discussed it. Are they even sure that Lydecker isn't going to pull off something here?

"No need to worry, they'll be surrounded with guns." Zack speaks up as he passes Lydecker and comes to crouch in front of Max. "It's going to be alright Max." He whispers to her.

* * *

Lydecker and Max ran into each other at a genetics conference in Season 1 ep 6 'Prodigy'.

Thanks for reading :)

Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	13. Chapter 13 Possessive and Protective

After scoping the location out and setting up their own surveillance surrounding the area, they were watching closely and with all alertness as 'Zakes' and his people showed up. Logan was nervously watching the situation as two of the people that came with Zakes was some of the red soldiers that Max had a run in with before, but they only appeared to be there to help set up and then they got into one of the trucks and drove off.

Tinga was sent out to tail them to make sure that they weren't up to something but she only followed them to a bar where they spent the next few hours trying to get drunk. So her evening was very uneventful.

The procedure lasted for almost two hours with three 'doctors' working around Max. And of course with Lydecker and Brin watching over their shoulders, armed to the teeth. Logan was sitting in his car with his laptop running surveillance and Zack was in the next building over scanning the area with a sniper rifle.

After the procedure Zakes said that he'll still be in town for a few more days and that they just had to give him a call if there was any problems but then proceeded to assure them that there would be none.

Then after Zakes and his people packed up and disappeared into the night, they took Max back to Logan's penthouse and she is currently lying on the bed in the spare room being surrounded as they wait for her to wake up.

Logan has decided to go to his office as the room was getting cramped and he is now intently looking at something on his computer screen.

"Max is still out." Zack comments as he comes strolling into Logan's office. As he fold his arms to lean back against the table, he catches Logan's eye that conveys the message of 'I have found something'.

Logan then slightly turns the screen towards Zack. "All the information about Lydecker may have been wiped from existence but I was able to track his wife. Juaneve Lydecker."

Zack looks at the picture of Lydecker's wife that was murdered, the same picture they saw when they were looking where to find him that night when they were looking for Brin. After studying the woman in the picture for a moment or so, Zack can draw the similarities. The hair, the skin, the cheeks, the eyes….

"Max is waking up." Brin's soft voice from the hallway breaks their attention and Zack immediately turns and disappears down the hall. Brin gives the picture a look but doesn't say a word as she turns and follows after Zack.

Logan then gets out of his chair and slowly makes his way to the spare room. The room is already cramped with people, so he just leans in the doorway and watch as Zack, Brin and Tinga surrounds Max as she is slowly waking up from the sedatives. As soon as Max seems to be somewhat awake, the questions start.

Max hazily looks around the room and then her eyes falls on Logan. "Hey." Her voice a bit weak.

"Hey yourself." Logan smiles back at her and at that Zack, Tinga and Brin shares a glance and then they exit the room to leave Max and Logan in private.

Zack and the others have already asked Max the 20 questions of 'how are you feeling?', 'do you have pain?', 'do you feel ok?'. So Logan goes to explaining to Max what had happened while she was unconscious.

"It looks like Manticore did something around the implant to stabilize it to stop it from aggravating the seizures, but the explosion from the other day had dislodged it. They say that if the impact of the explosion was any harder or at another angle, there could've been brain damage or you could've been killed." Logan explains as one of Zakes' _doctors_ explained it.

Everybody understands that if Lydecker didn't take that blunt object to the head and Max did, there's a chance that they would not have had their sister at this moment. So they have Lydecker to thank for that but of course no one went out of their way to express that.

Max slowly moves her hand to the back of her head to feel where they have operated but she only feels a small little plaster.

"It's a very small cut, they say it'll be gone by next week." Logan informs her as he watches her.

Max starts looking around the room. She feels different, she can't explain it but it's not a 'bad' different. "So did they take it out?"

"They said the implant fuses itself with part of your brain, removing it would kill you, so they fixed it." Logan sighs as he explains. "And with your Manticore DNA the implant doesn't pose any threat to you."

After giving Logan a long look, her expression turns worried. "And what exactly did Lydecker give them in return for this fix up?" Max is really hoping that Lydecker didn't do something that'll cause her to be disappointed in him.

"Nothing as far as I know. Zack went with Lydecker when he went to go and speak to this guy. And according to Zack this guy wanted a spinal sample and then a veil of your blood… but Lydecker only offered to shoot him in return." Logan explains with relief in his tone. The last thing that this fragile situation with Lydecker and Max needed was Lydecker making a mess up like giving something of Max for experimentation. He is actually feeling glad that Lydecker didn't do something that stupid.

"Zack was alone with Lydecker and he didn't kill him?" There was some trace of sarcasm but mostly surprise in Max's tone.

"Yeah." Logan confirms.

"Lydecker decided to make a duck for it. It was getting over-crowded in here." Logan did however find a new burn phone standing on his desk after Lydecker had left, so he did leave a form of communication if there would be something else that comes up.

As Max looks away from Logan, a small trace of disappointment runs over her face. It would probably have been way too awkward with Lydecker hanging around here anyway.

* * *

Tinga and Brin had decided to go to Max's apartment to go pick some things up for her, like a change of clothes, her toothbrush and some girly things, that's why they left Zack with Max. But when they got to the building they noticed Lydecker's SUV parked outside. They then decided to covertly make their way up the fire escape stairs at the side of the building to Max's floor.

As they get to the 4th floor, they peak into the hallway window and finds Lydecker rounding the corner at that moment. Their timing perfect, as always.

Lydecker then proceeds to go up to Max's apartment door and for a moment they expect him to actually pull out a key as he is striding along confidently. But he then stops, lifts his hand and gives a quick knock.

Almost immediately the door opens.

"Don." OC sounds like she wasn't expecting him.

Lydecker then pulls out a container from his pocket and hands it to OC. The container looks similar to the one he had the previous day that he had brought for Max.

"In case Max needs it." Lydecker doesn't make any small talk.

OC pulls a face as she takes it and then puts the container on the kitchen counter.

"What's the problem?" Lydecker asks as he catches the expression she just pulled.

Sighing, OC shifts from foot to foot. "I'm off to go hire myself some thugs." She proudly declares.

"For what?" Lydecker tries not to sound skeptical.

OC then sighs again and looks Lydecker in the eye. "I just found out from a friend who works a few blocks down from Jam Pony that some guys took advantage of Max when she was weak from when the seizure had started."

"Advantage how?" Lydecker's tone goes low and dangerous as he inquires.

"Apparently not much happened but I don't appreciate some group of dirt bags touching my home girl inappropriately." OC's tone and body language drips with attitude as she bobs her head from side to side.

"Give me a location and a description." Lydecker states like someone ready to receive operation directives.

After OC described who the perpetrators are and explained where to find them, Lydecker gave her a "I'll take care of it." And with that he turned and left.

Tinga and Brin who observed the conversation decides to follow Lydecker to see what he is going to do. And if he doesn't do anything or doesn't find them, they will do something like give them a good beat down and then threaten them to never mistreat another girl again.

After following Lydecker to another sector, Tinga and Brin waits and watches as he gets out of his car and heads straight for a factory. As Lydecker gets to the door at the side of the building, they expect him to pick it but instead he just kicks the door down. It's an old door with not much of reinforcing so not much points there for Lydecker but still they have never seen him get this 'involved'. It was always his men dressed in black that was doing all of the _heavy lifting_.

As the two X5's are about to cross the street towards the building, they spot a police drone and take cover. They wait until the drone has eventually searched every nook and cranny of the alley way and then as the drone is far way enough, Tinga and Brin sprints over to the building. They decide to go the high route as they jump up onto an over-hanging balcony of the factory.

Moving through the building they listen intently and then they start heading into the direction of where it can clearly be heard that someone is being beaten up and for a fleeting moment they wonder if they'll interfere if it's Lydecker getting his ass kicked.

When Brin and Tinga comes to an open clearing of a high rise roof, they spot three guys sprawled over the floor, groaning in pain and nursing various injuries.

"You can take whatever you want!" One of the guys offers, his voice traced with panic and pain.

"Tell me, what is this story that I hear about you boys taking advantage of a young lady?" Tinga and Brin can hear Lydecker's voice calmly drawl and then he comes into view as he slowly circles the three guys on the floor.

"Oh, is that what this is about? She's a pretty little one." The guy with spikey hair answers with a sense of glee. "Got a nice handful of ass there." Even though he's got a bloody lip, he grins at his own smug words.

Tinga and Brin glance at each other and then looking back they watch as Lydecker squares his shoulders, lifts his head and takes a deep breath _the kind you take as you count to 10…._ Brin clearly recognizes that stance, she had seen it far too often when she was at Manticore. Red flags immediately starts raising for her.

"Nobody…" Lydecker's tone turns dark and dangerous. "And I mean nobody gets to touch my little girl and live." With that Lydecker pulls out his gun and shoots the guy.

He then slowly moves over to the next guy who has his arms wrapped around his midsection as he tries to move away. Lydecker then nonchalantly points his gun at him.

"How about you, do you share the same sentiments about my daughter?"

Tinga and Brin both freeze as those words comes out of Lydecker's mouth.

"I barely touched her." The guy tries to crawl away as he tries to plead not as guilty as the previous guy.

Lydecker pulls the trigger and then moves on to the third guy.

"I didn't touch her, I swear to you. I was only watching...I.. I only drive the truck." He tries to get out of his predicament and pin it on the other two who can no longer tell their side of the story.

"Aiding and abetting." Lydecker simply states and then he shoots him also.

Lydecker spends a second looking at the guys on the floor as he puts his gun away behind his back. He then turns and walks away as if nothing has happened.

Tinga and Brin quickly double backs to the balcony and they watch as Lydecker casually walks over to his SUV, gets in and drives off. They spend a few moments thinking over what has just transpired. _You share the same sentiments about by daughter?...Daughter._

They look at each other and then they jump off into the street and then make a bee line for Logan's.

* * *

"What did you bring?" Zack asks as Tinga and Brin enters Logan's office where Zack and Logan is busy talking. Brin then leans back against the door after she had closed it behind them.

"Nothing." Tinga declares as she looks from Brin to Logan and then to Zack.

"What's going on?" Logan asks as he can see that something's up.

"Lydecker." Logan and Zack looks to Brin as she softly mentions his name. "We saw Lydecker."

"Saw him doing what?" Zack of course will take anything he can get his hands on, so that he can prove that Lydecker is up to no good and then to carry that to Max.

Brin then looks over to Tinga as she practically hands over the explaining work to her.

Tinga then proceeds to tell them about what they have learned. As soon as she mentions what OC had told Lydecker about Max being 'taken advantage' of, both Zack and Logan is clearly upset.

But then as Tinga tells them about how Lydecker found the men that had done said thing, and executed them, their expressions take on a form of stunned shock and then there's silence.

Zack recalls the short encounter he had with Lydecker the day before. He clearly kept his promise that if he found out that anyone is _mishandling_ Max in any way, he will kill them himself.

Dropping his gaze to the floor, Logan clears his throat. "Well that's not surprising. You should have seen how he reacted about you being killed by Renfro… then you'd understand." Logan gestures to Tinga as he states matter-a-factly.

In response Tinga pulls a disgusted face. She has heard this story about how Lydecker had an 'epiphany' after she was 'murder' by the new director of Manticore.

"It was about three months after the DNA lab bombing when Lydecker set up a meet so that he can give me information for Eyes Only about Manticore. But when I showed up, it turned out that Manticore had struck a deal with Lydecker to bring him back into the Manticore 'fold', if he hands me over. But then it turned out that, that was not Lydecker's plan as he turned on them and shot them instead." Logan explains what happened that day at the warehouse.

"It was almost like Lydecker lured them out so that he can get his hands on them and then get information out of _Jim_." Logan doesn't know who this guy was but he seemed to be quite high up on the ranks.

"Jim?" Brin asks as she has heard Lydecker talk to him a few times and she's aware that he is higher up on the chain of command.

"Yes, Lydecker grabbed him and started interrogating him about why Renfro is killing ….. _his kids."_ Logan carefully uses those words. "He then expressed his specific unhappiness about Renfro killing you…" Logan looks at Tinga and then turns away towards his screen.

 _That bitch murdered one of my kids!_

Logan recalls Lydecker's words and shouting tone. He recalls that he was wondering at that moment if Lydecker was still in his right mind.

"He was yelling, clearly upset." Logan uses a tone that clearly expresses how intense it was.

"….and if that is how he reacted about you…." Logan doesn't finish the sentence, he leaves it to their imagination to fill in the blanks.

"Just imagine how he will react about Max." Zack finishes the sentence. They all are very well aware that Max is _special_ to him.

"He did mention something though…" Tinga's words draws their attention.

"After the first guy confessed to touching Max, Lydecker said _'nobody and I mean nobody gets to touch my little girl and live.'_ And then he shot him. _"_ Tinga pauses for a moment.

 _His little girl?_ The words ring in Zack's ears, how dare he be protective of Max in such a personal manner.

Logan however is surprised at himself that he can actually hear those words coming out of Lydecker's mouth.

"And then he moved on to the next guy and said, _'How about you, do you share the same sentiments about my… daughter?"_ Tinga's tone changes as she repeats what they heard.

That was Lydecker's first public confession that Max is his daughter. If there was any doubt about the situation, it has been cleared up now.

Again, there's a moment of silence until Logan looks up at Zack.

"What?" Logan asks as Zack is pinning him with a look.

"You've been nominated to go talk to Max about these men who touched her _inappropriately_." Zack uncrosses his arms. "We all know that Max can take care of herself but we all also know how a seizure can weaken you." Zack's tone clearly tells that he knows it by experience. "Just to make sure she's is ok."

They didn't even know about this, they only paid attention to the whole 'implant causing very bad seizure' moment. They have to make sure, just in case.

* * *

"Hey." Logan greets Max as he enters the spare room with a plate of food.

Max has just shifted herself into a sitting position. "If you carry on like this I might just decide to stay here and continue to play 'woman down'. I'm being waited on hand and foot, I get served food in bed…." Max's tone is playful, clearly she is feeling much better.

Logan smiles at Max as he takes a seat on the chair next to the bed. "So how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better." Max answers as she takes a bite of food and then savors the taste.

"I heard about your run in with some guys when the seizure started." Logan carefully mentions to Max.

Max sighs as she knows exactly what Logan is talking about. "Do I have someone stalking me?" Max didn't really want anybody to know about that, it was embarrassing but at least she had enough strength to get herself away from those creeps.

"I just want to make sure that you are ok." Logan uses a confessing tone.

"I am Logan. I was groped by some guys, I've been through worse." Her tone states that she's got everything under control. "When I'm on my feet, I'll go pay them a visit, give them a good shake down and teach them not to ever disrespect another girl again." Max uses a nonchalant tone like it's nothing out of the ordinary.

"It's nothing to worry about Logan, I'm fine, just…" Max raises her hands in a gesture that tells him to stop and back off. "…just don't tell Lydecker. He will hunt them down and shoot them." Max blatantly states and then she continues eating like it's nothing unusual.

In the hallway Zack, Brin and Tinga are listening to what Max was going to say and her words about Lydecker sent a cold chill down their spines. Clearly Max knows what Lydecker is capable of and she seems to know exactly how he would react to something like that. Max seems clearly aware of how possessive Lydecker is over her.

Max takes another bite and before Logan can respond, the phone down the hall rings. "I gotta get that." Logan gestures with his hand and then he's out the door.

* * *

The 'Red Soldiers' appears in Season 1 ep 10 "Red" and ep 12 "Rising".

Lydecker made a deal with Manticore to hand over Eyes Only and then betrays them in Season 2 ep 1 "Designate This".

Thanks for reading :)  
Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	14. Chapter 14 Sentimental

It's almost a week later since the whole implant drama and Max is back on her feet. She had shown her face at Jam Pony just to make sure that she still has a job and that is when she heard about the group of guys that groped her had been killed. Max didn't even have to think about it, she immediately knew that it was Lydecker.

So at this moment Max finds herself cruising down a winding road on her bike heading to Lydecker's place.

She was glad when he showed up that day when her seizure from hell started, she didn't even care about what the other's felt or thought. And then when Lydecker and Zack came back from meeting with this Zakes guy, Lydecker asked how she was doing but Brin and Tinga's presence had practically formed a shield around her from him, so he kept his distance.

At that moment she felt like she was being depraved of something that is rightfully hers…her father's affection and comfort.

So here she is on her way to Lydecker's. She's still supposed to take it slow as Zakes 'doctors' said that it may take a while for the implant to settle. But she was getting tired of being babied by the others, she really just want to hang around Lydecker. Never in her life did she ever thought the she would ever think or feel such a thing...

Logan said that Zack and the others heard about when the 'doctor' explained about how any harder impact from the explosion could've killed her or caused severe brain damage. And they know that it is thanks to Lydecker that things didn't happen that way. Max is hoping that it scores Lydecker some brownie points with them as it would seem that keeping a secret separate life with Lydecker on the side isn't going to happen.

Pulling her bike into the basement garage, she then hops off her bike. After entering by the door she heads for Lydecker's office where she is sure to find him but as she passes the living room, she finds him there. It looks like he just got off the couch.

"Max."

Entering into the living room, Max does like a covert two step run up and then she throws her arms around him. Lydecker warps his arms around her as his one hand comes up and gently cups the back of her head holding her close.

Breaking out of the hug, Lydecker has a smile on his face. "You're looking much better." He really is relieved that Max is no longer in that pain she was in when he found her on Logan's couch.

"Yeah. It's almost healed." Max sounds chirpy as she pulls her hair over her one shoulder then she turns around and shows Lydecker the cut just below her barcode.

It's a very small cut, hair thin and it is almost gone. Lydecker notes to himself that it's a very decent job that was done, work certainly worth praising.

"How are you doing?" Max turns around and asks as she is eyeing the stitched wound on Lydecker's forehead. The last time she saw him he was still recovering from a concussion and all this time he was busy running around organizing things for her to get well instead.

"I'm ok." Lydecker answers like it's a strange question to ask.

"You look tired." Max notes. The wound is much better and the stitches can almost come out but Max can clearly see the lines of exhaustion on his face.

Before the conversation can continue, there's a double beeping sound coming from the office and then Lydecker makes his way there with Max following after. Sitting down behind his desk, Lydecker starts typing something and then he pulls up a hack file that he was waiting to decrypt.

After pulling up a few more windows, Lydecker had successfully hacked into one of White's communication lines.

"Not bad, maybe Logan can learn a thing or two." Max comments she watches Lydecker carefully sift through the information.

"White can't run forever." Lydecker comments in a calm tone. He is however busy planning on how to remove White from the equation.

"So, they couldn't take the implant out?" Max inquires, Logan told her about it.

"No, they fixed it." Lydecker's voice clearly conveys that he is very unhappy with it. "Zakes has been trying to sell this neuro implant technology to Manticore for years, I have always declined. Manticore soldiers did perfectly fine without having some gizmo stuck in their brains to rev them up." Lydecker drops a pen he had in his hand to add emphasis to his disapproval.

"And now you of all people are stuck with it." Lydecker uses his hands to gesture.

"Yeah, it's funny how things in life turn out." She still hasn't told him how the implant ended up in her head in the first place and she's not planning to either.

"There is however something different." Max mentions in a thoughtful tone.

"Like what?" Lydecker turns around and looks at Max. If Zakes did something wrong, all bets are off.

"I'm stronger." Max nods her to herself. "Not as strong as the red soldiers but I'm definitely more than 'Manticore' strong." Max had noticed that when her and OC's neighbors was busy carrying a fridge upstairs and the two guys at the bottom of the stairs slipped and Max jumped in to help. She knew that even with her Manticore make-up she would have to flex her muscles to catch that fall but to her utter surprise, it ended up being as light as a feather.

Lydecker pulls a face that states he is not happy about that.

"But I can live with that." Max tilts her head to the side. "It can come in handy."

Turning back to his screen, Lydecker continues to monitor a conversation going back and forth at a very slow pace. That's the problem with monitoring someone, they may end up talking nonsense all day long and only say three words that are of importance.

Max comes to stand next to Lydecker and then places her hand on his shoulder. "I'll take this watch, you get some rest."

Lydecker slightly turns his head into her direction but then turns to look back at the screen again like he is going to turn her offer down.

"You need sleep." Max insists.

"Ok." Lydecker drops his head and then he gets up and Max falls back into his seat before he can change his mind.

"I'll let you know when the stars starts falling out of the sky." Max raises her voice after Lydecker as he leaves the office.

After jotting down notes about things that may prove to be interesting to look into, two hours later Max starts getting bored. This really isn't her thing, stalking.

Max looks around the office as if she'll find something more entertaining to do while she continues to monitor the communication. Her eyes falls on the desk where she is sitting and her eyes travel to the drawers and she suddenly has an overwhelming curiosity to know what kind of things Lydecker would have in his drawers…

Reaching out Max silently slides the first drawer open and then she looks through the drawers of his desk and there really wasn't anything all that interesting, well, that was until she got to the second drawer on the right.

Max sits back as she pulls out pictures. Pictures of her. Well only three of them. One when she was a kid with her army cut hair, then the wanted poster for 50 000 and then the last one. It's a photo of her like she looks now, she can't recall from where but it's clear that she was busy escaping and evading at that moment judging by her stance. Studying the picture closely, Max can tell that it's a security camera that caught her somewhere. She wonders where Lydecker got it from.

"You found those." Lydecker states in a calm tone as he is quietly watching Max from the door. Max isn't even startled, she's gotten use to Lydecker suddenly popping up behind her.

"Mind telling what the point is of keeping this one?" Max turns around and holds up her wanted picture like she hasn't done anything wrong.

"That picture of you is very sentimental to me." Lydecker doesn't move but stays standing in the door, his tone soft.

"How so?" Max pulls a skeptical face. What sentimental value can this possibly have?

"I used to have that picture up on the wall in my office back at Manticore." Lydecker slowly starts walks into his office. "It was the only picture that I could have in my office of my daughter without it raising any questions." Lydecker confesses the purpose of the picture.

The wanted picture of one of the rogue X5's up on his wall needed no excuse to be there and to everyone else it may have been a reminder of one of the escaped X5's they were trying to find. But to him every time he saw that picture, he saw his daughter and it gave him a purpose to move towards, to someday have Max by his side.

Max looks at the picture as she studies it. "It's almost perfect, you've got quite a good memory."

"You have no idea." Is Lydecker's response as he crosses his arms and leans back against another desk.

Looking at the picture, Max also thinks to herself it may be very well sentimental also because Lydecker so to say drew it himself.

Max had also wondered, Lydecker also saw what Zack looked like but he only drew up a picture of her and put a bounty on her only. That only showed that Lydecker was far more interested in finding her.

"You can throw it away if you like." Lydecker suggests, it may have a purpose to him but it may only bring back bad memories for Max and he doesn't want that.

"Nah, we can keep it. You did draw it after all." Max then puts the picture back into the drawer where she found it.

Turning back, Max picks up the paper that she has been using to make notes of the things that she has picked up from communication of White's agents. Max then proceeds to lean back in Lydecker's chair and then puts her feet up on the desk crossing them over each other.

"There are multiple mentions of a certain location. I'm not sure where it is yet but it seems to be a base of some sorts." Max starts giving like a report about what she has picked up.

Lydecker steps forward and Max expects him to take the paper from her so that he can see for himself when he reaches out and then places a hand under her lower leg and then lifts her feet of his desk and then drops them to the ground.

Max drops the paper she was reading from and pulls Lydecker a face of _really?_ And Lydecker just responds with a look of _absolutely._

She knows that she is not being treated like anyone else. Because if she was anyone else, number one she would've been dead already for going through his drawers and number two, putting her feet on his desk would've warranted immediate execution.

Moving herself up, Max then hops onto her feet to declare to Lydecker that he may have his chair back but then suddenly the world around her seem to tip. Lydecker reaches out and grabs Max by her shoulders as she sways a bit.

"You ok?" Lydecker asks as a worried look passes over his face.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a slight headache with some dizziness, apparently the 'doctors' did say that it would be the case. But I'm tired of just lying around." Max confesses with a slightly irritated tone.

"That's too bad." Lydecker tilts his head clearly indicating, _off you go to bed._

Max considers it for a moment. She didn't even realize how dizzy she had become sitting there until she stood up and now she feels like lying down. She then turns and starts making her way down the hall.

"Do you have the medicine they gave you?" Lydecker was there when everything was explained about what should and should not be happening after the procedure.

"It's in my bag."

Lydecker went to the kitchen and made coffee and then retrieved the meds from Max's backpack before going to her room where she has sat down on her bed.

"Here." Lydecker hands her a cup of coffee and her meds.

"Thanks."

As Max is busy drinking her coffee, Lydecker moves to stand in front of the window looking out.

After some silence Max carefully speaks up. "You know, you can't just go around shooting people." Max was trying to think of the right words to use when addressing this thing with Lydecker. She doesn't want him to think that she doesn't appreciate how much he cares but killing people is pushing it.

"They touched my little girl." Lydecker states as if that was the only course of action that there was to be taken.

Max glances over her shoulder at Lydecker's back as he's still looking out of the window. _My little girl._ He uses the term in a very affectionate way. Like she is his to care for and that he is very protective of her. And for some reason she seems to have no problem with it.

"I was going to go back and ruff them up a bit and tell them to never touch another lady like that again." Max tells of her plans, she wasn't just going to let it go.

"Well, they are not touching anybody else ever again now." Lydecker calmly states like it's perfectly common that someone just got shot for a minor offense.

"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate… I love being cared for so much." Max has to admit this, she has never had this kind of attention and she doesn't want to lose it. "But executing people is a bit out there, for me." Max tries to tell him thanks while trying to let him know that it's not cool to go to those extremes.

After a while, Max lies down on the bed as the dizziness is now getting to her. She then rolls over to look where Lydecker is standing and she wonders if she should say something, she hopes that she hasn't offended him.

Lydecker turns around and after looking at her for a few moments, he walks over and then sits down on the bed. He keeps his hands in his lap as he intently looks at Max.

"I can't bear the thought of someone doing something to you." Lydecker tells her in all honesty and the look in his eyes gives him away completely.

Max recalls his words that night when she woke up cuffed to that cheap hotel bed, _sometimes I wish I could take you away from here, where they couldn't do anything to you._ Lydecker was so serious about that, that he was going to kill her and himself to make sure that nothing like that happens. She had thought about that night. Lydecker knew that Manticore has a way of tracking her but he could've skipped town and left it all behind but instead he chose to rather die with her. It's like he would have no life without her, so he would just end his life with her. This is where Max had realized how much she means to him.

Closing her eyes, Max feels Lydecker's hand on her forehead and then stroking over her hair.

"You weren't there when I woke up." The disappointment is clear in her tone.

"Sorry." Lydecker whispers. He really wanted to be there with her but the atmosphere was getting tense. "You were in good hands." He knows that they care for her, so he was at peace leaving her in caring hands.

Lydecker then softly strokes the back of his fingers over Max's cheek as he leans closer and whispers. "I love you Max." He then places a kiss on her temple.

Max just gives a silent smile in return. The moment feels like she should respond back with an 'I love you too' but it just doesn't seem to come out of her mouth. It feels like it'll be way too awkward, she has never said such a thing to anyone. She knows that Lydecker loves her but maybe she needs to get more used to hearing it.

Continuing to stroke her forehead, Lydecker sits with Max until she falls asleep.

* * *

After discovering that Lydecker had connections to the CIA, Logan of course being a hacker and Eyes Only just had to continue to investigate. Zack, Tinga and Brin on the other hand continued to search for anything and everything they can find about Lydecker. They either want to prove that he is bad news for Max or they are trying to prove to themselves that Lydecker is safe to be left hanging around Max.

Zack returned with Tinga and Brin to the building where he followed Lydecker to when he was trying to find what they did to Tinga. Apparently it is where the 'committee' meets. They have covertly infiltrated and retrieved hard copy files and folders about Lydecker. Since it's not electronic, it wasn't erased with the rest of his existence.

Currently Logan, Zack, Brin and Tinga is in Logan's office busy digging through folders, files and papers.

"A disciplinary hearing has been requested with Colonel Donald Lydecker for disobeying a direct order in not issuing a 10-06 and blatantly refusing to execute the rogue X5 452." Logan starts reading a file that he was going through. As far as he can tell, this happened around the time when Max ran into Lydecker and his men when she was helping Jace.

"Arrest warrant issued for Colonel Donald Lydecker for the murder of Agent Sandoval." Logan reads the next set of papers as he notices the date just after Tinga was captured.

"Renfro and Agent Sandoval was scheming behind Lydecker's back. Renfro gave orders that was contrary to Lydecker's and then she passed them down via Sandoval. That's where I got the orders from to not only bring you into custody but also your son and Max. She wanted a hat trick." Brin explains as she looks to Tinga.

"When Lydecker found out, he was not happy. Sandoval had betrayed him and the next thing we know, we find Sandoval murdered." Something in Brin's voice says that she's wary of the situation. That's because she stands guilty with Sandoval for following Renfro's orders behind Lydecker's back.

"Full procedural review requested against Colonel Donald Lydecker for operational mishandling after failing to recapture the rogue X5 452." Logan reads another file.

"Another arrest warrant for Colonel Donald Lydecker for the murder of three special ops Manticore soldiers." Logan notices the date, it's the same date when Lydecker was in the wind and he took Max with him.

"Termination order for Colonel Donald Lydecker for defecting and taking property of Manticore, namely X5 452."

And the list goes on.

"Clearly he was prepared to implicate himself trying to protect Max." Logan notes as he pages through the rest of the documents.

"That's the type of things that I was talking about. When it came to Max, Lydecker just lost all rationality about Manticore." Brin points out.

"Besides the '09 escape, Lydecker had a beyond perfect track record, that was until Max got involved." Logan points out as he glances over to Brin confirming what she has been saying. "He is currently like on their top 10 most wanted list. They want him back badly but according to the last order concerning him, they want him back alive."

Zack has been staring at a card all the time Logan has been going through the files. It's an employee card with Lydecker's picture on it. It has his full name, physical details, clearance, class and category on it but it is the last thing on the list that has Zack's attention.

"Why would Lydecker's Manticore identity number be an X5 number?" Zack asks with suspicion as he turns the card over and holds it for the others to see and that of course gains everybody's undivided attention.

"What?" Tinga questions as she takes the card from Zack and looks at it. "Identity number X5695-1" She reads it out loud.

"Maybe because he worked with X5's?" Logan suggests.

"But there's a whole X series of X2's, X3's, X5's and X7's." Brin corrects, that can't be it.

The four of them starts brain storming to answer their confusion.

* * *

The next day there's a knock at the door and it turns out to be OC.

"Hi guys." OC announces her arrival as she steps into Logan's living room where the X5's are gathered on the couches.

"Hey OC." They greet in one way or another.

"So what are you doing here?" Logan carefully asks. He doesn't want it to seem like he doesn't want her there but he can't think for what specific reason she would be there.

"Max said to meet here for lunch." OC throws a look over her shoulder at Logan. "You're whipping something up right?"

Logan and the others had been going through documents in the living room when OC showed up and kind of warned them about Max being on her way, so they covertly try to clear the papers away without OC noticing.

"Yep." Logan answers to try and make conversation.

"Really? I thought we were getting pizzas?" Tinga asks.

"Now why would you order pizza if you have a king of a chef?" OC gestures to Logan as she asks a rhetorical question. "Because this man can cook." OC states with all confidence as she turns back to the others.

Tinga and Brin shares a look. OC does have a point there.

"And not to mention good taste in jewelry." OC says as she goes to the kitchen for something.

Tinga and Brin shares a smile as they glance at Logan and Zack gives him a look. They have noticed the ear rings that Max has been wearing, perfect color for her.

Logan just looks back at them with a sobering expression. "Are we talking about the ear rings? Because I didn't get her those." Logan points out but he does however have a very good idea who did.

"Lunch is served." Max's voice is heard calling from the front door and then she appears in the living room with a pile of pizza boxes.

"Pizza? I came here for pizza?" OC appears out of the kitchen clearly unimpressed.

"Yeah, what's wrong with pizza?" Max questions as she pulls a frown.

"Umhumm.." OC gestures like Max knows exactly why bringing pizza into a man's house that can cook brilliant food is wrong.

Max enters the kitchen to get glasses and Logan follows after her to help. Taking out the glasses Max's hair falls to the side and Logan's eyes falls on the ear rings and he think about the topic they were just on a moment before.

"I like the ear rings." Logan comments. He already knows where they came from but he wants to see how Max is going to react.

"It's made from a specific alloy that deflects electromagnetic pulses so that the implant in my head cannot be tracked." Max explains with a touch of the dramatic in her tone, "It's such a typical Lydecker present." Max's voice is cheerful as she gives a short laugh to herself and smiles at the thought.

Zack who was standing just outside of the kitchen hears about the ear rings. _Now Lydecker is buying her presents?_ Zack's mind immediately goes suspicious. Have Max and Lydecker really gotten that close or does he have a hidden agenda with the ear rings? What if the ear rings have a tracker in them and Lydecker can find her wherever she goes?

As Max and Logan comes out of the kitchen with the glasses, Zack quickly moves back to where the others are and pretends nothing is going on but Max caught his shadow and that immediately puts a damp on her good mood.

She should've kept her mouth shut, why did she even mention Lydecker's name out loud? That is certainly something that Zack would be very _unhappy_ about.

As Max places the glasses on the table, she glances at Zack. Zack who's watching her intently immediately looks away the moment they make eye contact. Max turns her eyes back to the glasses, _he definitely heard that…_. For a moment Max feels like panicking…and then…

There's a knock at the door and Tinga goes to open the door and then not long after she returns with her husband and son.

"To family." They all are seated around the table and they all have a piece of pizza in hand but Max can't help but wonder what Lydecker is up to at that moment… _to family…._

* * *

Lydecker pulled up the wanted poster of Max in Season 1 ep 8 'Blah Blah Woof Woof'.

The wanted picture of Max is seen on Lydecker's wall in his office in Season 1 ep 19 'Hit A Sista Back'.  
Renfro changed Lydecker's orders behind his back also in Season 1 ep 19 'Hit A Sista Back'.

The location where the "committee" met, appears in Season 1 ep 20 'Meow'.  
Lydecker's Manticore employee card with his identity number X5695-1 is seen when Renfro gives it to Sandoval also in Season 1 ep 20 'Meow'.

Lydecker refused to issue the order of a 10-06 of deadly force to execute Max in Season 1 ep 14 'Female Trouble'.

Lydecker shoots three Manticore special ops soldiers to escape with Max in Season 1 ep 21 'Casserole'.  
The arrest warrant for Lydecker for murdering agent Sandoval was issued also in Season 1 ep 21 'Casserole'.  
The termination order for Lydecker was given to Brin also in Season 1 ep 21 'Casserole'.

Thanks for reading :)  
Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	15. Chapter 15 It's too late to apologize

Short chapter but it ends with a cliffhanger...whoops...that was a spoiler...

* * *

Two days later Max is standing in Lydecker's garage or basement, she hasn't made up her mind yet as to which it is. It is huge, it's much bigger than the house and it lies right beneath it.

"What is all this stuff?" Max asks as she is taking a look around, her arms folded as she is clearly not planning on getting her hands dusty.

"It's things from Manticore." Lydecker answers as he is looking through a box for something.

"So you used your basement as a storage facility?" Max frowns at the question.

"No…it's stuff that Manticore never missed, so I kept it." Lydecker explains.

"So you stole it?" After thinking about it for a moment, Max offers with a suggestive tone. She remembers that day when she and Zack helped Tinga escape from the trailer park and then Zack hot wired a car. She remembers Logan asking Zack if everyone in his family is a thief. Well, Lydecker is like her father, Zack is like her brother...so that means they're all family?

"Yip." Lydecker affirms while packing out another box.

"Hm." Max would never have thought that the _ever so loyal_ director and commander of Manticore would secretly be stealing equipment. Almost like he has a hidden agenda or something.

Max hops onto a table to take a seat as it seems they may be there a while looking for something.

"So your rejection of guns still remains the same?" Lydecker inquires with a tone of caution.

Max looks over to Lydecker. His tone clearly suggests that he is going somewhere with this.

"I am not touching those things." Max responds with a sense of refusal and then all of a sudden she starts wondering how many weapons Lydecker has stashed down here. He does seem to have a love for a gun.

"You do know what that means... right?" Lydecker asks as he has his back turned to Max and still digging around in a box but his tone suggests that he is putting much emphasis on this conversation.

"That I won't be using one?" Max sarcastically offers while wondering where this is leading.

"It means that you'll have to fight better." Lydecker simply states as he glances in her direction with a rather serious look before moving to another box.

"Your point?" Her face and tone skeptic.

"It means when you're surrounded by the enemy who is armed and you're not, you'll have to be faster, stronger…smarter." Lydecker's voice starts to drawl like he is instructing a class on tactics, this clearly points out that this conversation is going where Max is not interested.

"I am stronger now." After a pause Max offers as if the world's problems is now solved. After the implant in her head has been fixed, she is now a lot stronger than before.

"But you have not learned how to balance your speed with your new found strength by adjusting your perception to your unique ability." Lydecker turns around and faces Max as he uses his hand to indicate to the left and then to the right.

Max just looks at him as she realizes that she didn't really think about that. Before, her speed and power was balanced but now more strength will throw her off her game if she is on the move. She probably would've noticed this at some point but leave it to Lydecker to think of things like this.

"So what do you suggest? That I do a Manticore training course?" Max sarcastically whips out a comeback as she tries to recover from being caught off guard with that one.

"I do have these." Lydecker then takes something out of another box that was already standing open and places it on the table and then slowly pushes it towards her. His action clearly says that it was planned.

Max warily eyes the offending object or objects. It's a pile of disk cases.

"What are those?" Max carefully inquires, something tells her that she won't like it.

The deep breath that Lydecker takes confirms that he is now going to tell Max something that she will not like.

"It is psy-ops visual components of stage 3." Lydecker himself is eyeing the disks as he thinks about how hard he tried to get the committee to fund him so that he can raise Manticore to stage 3.

 _That's what he was working towards…_ Max knew that this was going somewhere.

"And what exactly is it that I should do with those?" Max unconsciously starts leaning away from it because she has a feeling that she knows what Lydecker has in mind.

"Watch it." Lydecker flatly states as his expression and tone takes a complete turn to when he is being deadly serious about something even though he is aware of the consequences.

Max just gives him a look of _are you kidding me?_ ..and her expression tells of how uncomfortable she is. _What exactly is Lydecker thinking…?_

"It is impossible to raise an X5 to the level of…" Lydecker stops mid-sentence knowing that Max really won't care.

"My point is that you can use it to sharpen your perception skills significantly." Lydecker points to the disks as he quickly states his point but his tone changes to a cautionary one.

Lydecker then quickly continues while he still has the chance. "Psychoactives are not needed, you can watch it simply like you watch a movie." His tone changes to a nonchalant one like there is nothing wrong with what he is suggesting.

A moment later Max hops off the table and heads for the door without a word or even sparing Lydecker a glance.

"Max."

In vain Lydecker calls after Max as she just continues until she's out the door. A few moments later Lydecker's hearts sinks as he realizes that he may have made a mistake as Max's bike starts up and he listens to her drive off.

Lydecker's eyes falls to the disks sitting on the table. He didn't mean to upset her, he just wants her to be the best that she can be. He wants her to be well prepared for any situation. Especially if the other guy has a gun, he wants Max to have the upper hand even without a weapon.

Surely this is what a father would want for his daughter? To be safe? Right?

Lydecker turns back to the box that he was unpacking but then he just leans on it as he stares blankly into it as he thinks.. _he may not know how to be a father but he is trying…but still…_ deep inside he must admit that he still longs to _build_ a perfect soldier...

But not his daughter, not Max, he doesn't want her to be the perfect soldier. He just wants her to be…strong…faster…smarter…able to take care of herself…. He wants her to be safe…he wants her to be a _soldier that can handle anything that comes her way – just like him - just like he once aspired to be…_

Lydecker slightly shakes his head to himself. He is trying…

* * *

A few days after Max walked out on Lydecker after he made that ridiculous suggestion of her watching Manticore stage 3 psy-ops disks, she is now hanging out with Tinga, her husband and son in Logan's living room.

They are planning on moving to Canada as it is too dangerous to be this close to White and his operation. And it's too risky to stay together. Zack has been making sure that he reminds everybody about this every day.

So Max now is trying to spend as much time with Tinga as possible before she disappears somewhere where Zack will never tell her.

Logan is busy on his computer faintly hearing the conversation in his living room when his phone rings.

"Hello."

"It's me."

Logan sits up as Lydecker doesn't phone to make casual conversation these days, he phones with important information.

"Yes." Logan is ready to jump at the next lead of whatever it is that Lydecker has for him or them.

"Is Max there?"

Logan pauses as the question catches him off guard. He thought that they have contact, why is Lydecker phoning him?

"She is." Logan's tone clearly gives away his confusion at the phone call.

Lydecker takes a deep breath on the other side of the phone. "I have done something wrong and now I'm getting the silent treatment." Lydecker confesses in a sorry tone.

"Oh" Logan tries to think of how he should process 'wrong' in Lydecker's case.

"Can I talk to her please." Lydecker eventually asks as he realizes that Logan has not caught the hint.

Lydecker was married at some point in his life and he does have some level of knowledge of how to deal with a woman and he has learned that sometimes he has to be the one to apologize to fix things.

"And what if she doesn't want to talk to you?" Logan figures if Max is giving him the _silent treatment_ then she doesn't want to talk to him.

"Cale, give her the phone." Lydecker's tone suddenly changes and he practically commands over the phone in a stern and serious voice and Logan almost feels like jumping up and saying 'yes sir', even though he has never done such a thing in his life.

Max looks up at Logan from the couch where she is sitting as he holds out the phone to her. Somehow Max knows that it can only be Lydecker. She then turns her head away in a gesture that says _'I'm not talking to him - it's too late to apologize.'_

She is still somewhat upset about the whole thing although she has tried to understand where he is coming from but she will have to have a conversation with him about things of this nature. She is not interested in being a better soldier, she is just interested in surviving in a free world while having family and friends in her life.

Logan carefully walks back to his office as he is trying to think of how to tell Lydecker that Max doesn't want to talk to him. Suddenly Logan almost finds himself fearful of Lydecker.

"She doesn't want to take the phone." Logan carefully offers trying to indirectly tell him that Max doesn't want to talk to him.

"That's fine, she'll come around." Lydecker's tone changes to an odd one, almost like he is trying to convince himself more than anyone else. After that the phone goes dead.

Logan puts the phone down and watches it as he is trying to think of what to make of the situation. What did Lydecker do wrong? Should he get involved? Should he ask Max? Should he tell Zack and the others? Should he worry?

* * *

About a week after the phone call from Lydecker, Logan had told Zack, Tinga and Brin about it. They all noticed that Max is not herself. She seems to be worried or constantly spacing out thinking about something. When Zack and the others brought it up one night that they have noticed this, that's when Logan told them that Lydecker confessed to him that he has done something wrong and Max wasn't talking to him.

Of course Zack was ready to shoot first and then ask questions later but then Brin convinced them to not confront Max about it. So, they all have been silently watching Max, dropping hints here and there about if she is ok and if she has any problems but she always gives smiles and all the right answers.

* * *

Another three weeks has passed…

"Logan."

Logan wakes up and frowns as he finds his bedside lamp turned on and Max standing next to him in his bedroom.

"Max, what's wrong?" Logan asks as he sits up in his bed. Something must be going on, Max had never woken him up in bed before.

"I can't find Lydecker." There's a clear trace of worry and urgency in her voice.

"Um… ok." Logan reaches for his glasses on the bedside table. "When was the last time you saw him?" Logan is kind of taken off guard, he's really not sure where to start if Max doesn't.

"Four weeks ago. Three weeks ago was when he phoned. He's been missing since. I can't get in contact with him, his phone is off and I can't find him anywhere." Max explains. Logan can hear an underlying tone of slight panic almost in her tone.

Max can tell that Lydecker hasn't been home because there's some dust on his desk. His car and his phone is missing. And she is sure that he has not left for good because everything is still standing as it was. Wherever he went, he clearly was coming back but he never returned and now she is getting worried.

Logan wonders for a moment if he should mention to Max how he tried to get hold of Lydecker before and he only got his voice message recorder, then only to find out Lydecker was playing dead. But would Lydecker do that to Max? He is the one who phoned looking for her in the first place.

"Something is wrong Logan. He won't just disappear like this." Max is being very honest, there's no time to play hide and seek with the truth. Sure the last time they saw each other, things didn't end so well but Lydecker won't just disappear like this.

After quickly getting dressed, Logan and Max is now in his office with Logan typing away on his computer to look for something, anything, though he doesn't even know what.

"Lydecker was listening in on a hack of White's comms. They were referring to a facility but the last time I checked Lydecker hasn't found the location." Max offers what she has to help.

"White seems to have set up shop in this area over here since about two months ago." Logan pulls up a map and then hacks a satellite to get an overhead image.

Without a further word Max turns and is about to run off to go check it out when Logan grabs her by the back of her jacket and pulls her back.

"Max wait, you can't go alone." Logan tries to reason with her. The place is probably crawling with White's men and there is even a possibility that there will be conclave soldiers.

Max looks at Logan not sure what to say. She can't take him, it's too risky and the others won't be eager. She'll first have to get a story together that'll convince them to play along and there's no time for that.

"I'll go."

Max and Logan turns and finds Zack standing in the doorway. Max is the one that is taken off guard this time, why would Zack want to?

Zack's expression says _just do it,_ and so without another word, they are out of there.

The two X5's are making their way through the parameter of White's new setup. It's an army base that has been abandoned quite some time ago and they wonder if this was maybe one of Manticore's locations.

The next moment out of nowhere they are surrounded and taken down by conclave soldiers. The beyond human capabilities to pick them up and throw them around like rag dolls clearly pointed that out. After a mob fight, punches and kicks the two unconscious X5's are dragged inside one of the buildings.

* * *

Logan asked Zack if everyone in his family is a thief in Season 1 ep 13 'The Kidz are Aiight'.

Lydecker asked Jim to ask the committee for funds so that he can bring Manticore to stage 3 in Season 1 ep 7 'Cold Comfort'.

Thanks for reading:)  
Reviews are welcome, I'd love to know your thoughts.


	16. Chapter 16 I can't lose you

Max comes to and she tries to look around but her vision is swimming. She tries to bring her hands up to wipe out her eyes but she realizes that her hands are restrained. That wakes her up as she starts jerking and thrashing around.

"452. How nice of you to join us."

Max looks up and finds White standing off to the side. He has that smug look on his face that she really would like to wipe off his face.

"White, where have you been?" Max uses a sarcastic tone. "I was starting to worry that you don't care anymore." Max is poking fun at him.

She knows why she is still alive. It's because of Ray. White needs her alive to tell her where his son is.

But then she remembered about Zack. Where's Zack?

Max looks around and finds Zack on the bunk on the other side of the small cell. He's sitting in a strange position with on hand cuffed to the top of the bunk and a foot cuffed to the bottom end. He's got blood on his face but it's dry, so it's from when they were jumped.

"Now 452, why don't we just get right to the point so that we don't have to tolerate each other any longer than we have to." White starts drawling as looks down at her while stepping closer to loom over her.

"Never tell you anything." Max uses a tone that tells they have had this conversation before and she has not changed her mind.

White just smiles and then he nods with his head to the person standing outside of the door. Four men comes in with sticks, taser sticks. They go up to both Max and Zack and give them both a good shock and then when Zack tries to fight them off with the one free hand and foot he's got, they just start beating him with the sticks.

Max has just woken up and her head is still spinning, so she doesn't get a punch in. The next moment the cuffs are taken off and then they are roughly removed from the room. White is leading them down a hallway and the two X5's are mostly being dragged behind him.

They come into a room and there's a person with a white coat. A _doctor,_ and the room is fitted out like one of Manticore's infirmaries. Immediately both Zack and Max starts to panic. Visits to rooms like this never ends well.

The two men picks Max up and forcefully slam her down on the steel table and then they hold her down as the doctor pulls her sleeve up and jabs a needle into her arm.

"Don't worry 452, it's a special mix. It's only to make you more co-operative. Unfortunately it won't kill you." White calmly informs her as he circles the room.

Zack on the other hand has still some fight left in him and when he sees Max being forced down and a needle come into sight, he starts fighting like a wild animal with everything he's got. But the conclave soldiers are too strong as they force him down onto the ground face first and then the doctor crouches next to him and jabs him with a needle also.

Max and Zack starts realizing that it's some sort of sedative. Their muscles are going numb but they are not losing consciousness. White's men then let's go of them and stands back, watching to see what happens. But both Zack and Max are weakened physically. Zack tries to make fists but his muscles won't comply, he can form a fist but there is no power in it, he can't even clench it. Max tries to get up but only manages to fall off the table.

On the floor Max rolls over and tries to push herself up and glances to Zack and they make eye contact for a brief moment. Zack is then roughly pulled to his feet and then placed in a chair. They don't even bother to restrain him to the chair, the two men are only holding him up as White comes to stand in front of him.

Without warning White punches Zack. Hard.

"Where's my son, 452?" White calmly asks in a forced tone as he turns to look down at Max where she has moved herself into a sitting position leaning back against the steel table for support.

Silence is the only answer as Max just eyes White with a glare, she knows that if she tells him, he'll kill them anyway.

Again White turns to Zack and then he starts beating him. After another few punches he casually turns back to Max. "What is the identity of Eyes Only?"

Max is caught off guard with that one. He has never been interested in Eyes Only before. Max catches Zack's eye but he only conveys a message that says _tell them nothing Maxie._ And so Max remains silent.

White goes back to beating Zack. Max tries not to look away but now is not the time to be weak. When White stops, Zack's face is covered with blood but Zack only responds by spitting blood onto White's shiny shoes.

Looking down unimpressed at his shoes, White then turns to Max as if it means nothing to him but Max knows that he is probably squirming on the inside and someone is going to pay.

"Where is the other transgenics? I want at least…" White then stares into a distance like he's trying to pick a number and then looks back and pins Max with a glare. "…all of them."

Max almost feels like spitting at his shoes also but she's never been that uncivilized and she's not going to start now, so she just glares back at him in silence.

"Is my son alive?" White asks the question he really didn't want to, he didn't want to even consider that Ray is dead. He then turns back to Zack and punches him in the stomach and Max can hear a rib break as Zack tries to strangle a cry of pain.

"Yes." The word slips out of Max's mouth before she could catch it. Well, at least she didn't tell him where his son is…that's still ok…isn't it?

"Don't, don't tell them anything." Zack gets out the words between gasps of pain.

"Thank you." White proclaims as he turns to Max and lifts his hands in a thankful gesture. "Now was that so hard?"

White then goes up to something that looks like a window but then he flips a switch and it turns out to be a one way observation window. On the other side it reveals another room… a familiar room.

Both Zack and Max starts to go into more of a panic as they stare at a psy-ops chair. Like the one from Manticore.

Yes, they can make themselves forget so that they can't reveal anything during psycho-active interrogation but that requires time and a trained mind to accomplish that. And at the moment they are sedated, Zack's beaten, and they highly doubt that White is going to give them a _take five_ moment to re-group… this is going to be a bad day.

White then nods his head to one of the men. "Bring him." One of the men then leaves the room.

Glancing over to Zack, Max wonders who he is talking about. It was only Zack and herself that came. Logan wasn't stupid enough to follow them, was he? Now her heart is starting to race.

The other men in the room then steps forward and grabs hold of Max and Zack and pulls them to their feet and then brings them in front of the observation window.

Flashes of when she was standing in Renfro's office in front of an observation window looking at Zack runs across Max's mind. Renfro was using Zack to try and break her down.

Not too long and then they hear a commotion outside in the hall and then as the door opens and two men drags someone inside… Max's hearts stops, the world stops, everything comes to a stop as Max looks at a beaten Lydecker being dragged into the room.

Clearly he has tried to put up a fight as he is covered in wounds, new and old, but with the conclave it didn't go far and without his gun, there really is no hope for him against them.

White comes to stand in between Max and Zack as he is looking at the former-former director of Manticore being dragged towards the psy-ops chair. "A treat for your co-operation." His tone smug and proud.

Clearly White thinks that Lydecker is still the 'bad guy' in their lives and that they would appreciate some payback.

"Apparently he's had contact with Eyes Only." White turns to look at Max. "He knows who it is." White turns back to look through the window.

"So far he has resisted torture of the old fashioned kind but we'll see how he holds up in that chair." White smirks to himself as he is clearly enjoying the pain he is inflicting on other people.

"What do you think?" White then turns to Zack with a questioning look. "Your files say that you are rather acquainted with that chair. It has been noted particularly that you were rather successful at _resisting_." White puts emphasis on the word. He must be referring to the time when Lydecker tried to get him to tell him where the other X5's were.

White slightly cocks his head into Lydecker's direction. "How do you think he'll hold up?"

"Look here…" Zack pulls a matter-of-fact expression. "The student can only be like their teacher, not better. I didn't crack, do you really think that you're going to get anything out of him?" Zack's voice drips with retaliation.

Max listens to Zack, he seems confident in Lydecker, what a turn around from his usual attitude concerning him.

White just smirks as he runs his tongue over the inside of his bottom lip and then glances into the observation room. "Don't worry, it has been modified. He will survive but the doctors can't promise much for his mind." White notes with much glee. Lydecker has caused him problems and now it's his time for payback.

By the time White has left the room to go to the other side, Lydecker has already forcefully been strapped to the psy-ops chair. It's a different chair, so it's not the original but it's been copied.

Zack can't help it, somewhere in the back of his mind there's a voice singing _payback is sweet_ , now Lydecker gets to know what is was like for them. Zack then glances at Max who has her eyes glued on Lydecker. He can see by her expression and eyes that she is not doing well under the circumstances and then he wonders what this will do to her. Clearly Max has no intentions of revenge against Lydecker but rather that of care and concern it would seem. How close are they? Zack looks back to the chair. They're going to find out because this is not going to be a very pleasant session.

Looking at Lydecker's state, Max can't equate this with how Lydecker always looks, how he always acts, how he always conducts himself. Max looks at the blood, some fresh, some dry, covering his head, his hands, his clothes. He's bare feet as his shoes has been removed. Just like with them when they were caught, _betrayed_ , as Sander's base. They're shoes was removed.

White strolls into the room and then comes to stand next to Lydecker and looks down at him. Lydecker tries to jerk free but with no hope, there's too many straps holding him down, even a strap over his forehead so that he cannot move his head. Clearly this chair has been built for unco-operative 'subjects'. Lydecker gives another jerk, not hoping to break free because he knows he can't but just to put the message out there that the moment he is free, they all die.

"You're going to fry my brain and then you'll get nothing out of me." Lydecker's voice is angry and forceful.

"We were getting nothing out of you anyway...but we'll see." White smirks as he calmly responds and then he looks to the doctor as he fills a syringe.

"This is my last words, screw you." Clearly Lydecker is aware that this plane is going down and there's no saving it.

The man in the white coat comes up next to Lydecker and injects him in his arm.

Watching the events unfold, memories of being tied to that chair flashes through Zack's mind.

 _Where are they Zack? Where's Jondy?...where's Max? Tell me and all of this will be over…_

Zack can still hear Lydecker's voice echoing in his mind from when he was strapped into that chair and Lydecker was asking where the others were. And that was after the 'doctor' advised that it's not a good idea as too much of psycho-actives may kill him. But that was only part of the plan, part of the game so that Lydecker could make him think the doctor helped him escape. Oh, Lydecker knows how to play dirty alright, very dirty. The thought of Max then pops into Zack's mind. You know, this is the very same Lydecker… what if he is busy playing some game with her?

A moment later Lydecker's body starts shaking but the restraints are holding him down. His hands are balled into fists, his jaw is set and his eyes are screwed shut. Then the next moment his body goes limp. The psycho-actives has kicked in.

There's a beep and it's only then that Zack notices that all the equipment is digital, not like the last time he was in that chair under Lydecker's command. Everything was old equipment then.

White comes to stand next to Lydecker and then puts his hands behind his back, while the man in the white coat levels the laser with Lydecker's eye and switches it on.

Taking a deep breath, White speaks. "State your designation."

"Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker X5695-1."

Max's heart falters, she remember when she was in that chair when just a kid. Once the questions start and the answers just flows out of your mouth, like what is happening now with Lydecker. He gave no hesitation, no resistance, just a fluent answer and  
X5695-1... what?

White then picks up a pile of papers and then holds a picture of Max in front of Lydecker. But Max and Zack can't see what he is holding up to Lydecker.

"State her designation."

"X5 332960073452 aka Max." Lydecker parrots out Max's barcode. Not just 452 but her whole barcode number.

Max and Zack glance at each other.

White then holds up another picture. "State his designation."

"X5 330417291599 aka Zack." Lydecker parrots out Zack's barcode.

Another picture is held up. "State her designation."

"X5 331450074656 aka Tinga."

Zack and Max starts to worry. Lydecker is talking freely. If White starts asking all the right questions, or wrong questions depends on how you look at it, White will know everything because Lydecker knows far too much.

And then…

Holding up another picture to Lydecker, White asks with much expectation in his tone… "State his designation."

"Eyes Only, enemy of Manticore. Identity …unknown."

Zack gives Max a side glance. They both know that Lydecker knows that Logan is Eyes Only.

White seems unimpressed with the answer. He then turns to the doctor. "Turn it up." White instructs in a cold tone and then a moment later Lydecker's body starts to tense, they can see how his hands are straining as his knuckles goes white. His breathing turns more strained as the muscles in his face clearly tenses up.

"State your designation." White's tone turns more forceful.

"Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker X5695-1." His voice now traced with pain though it is suppressed.

Again White starts holding up pictures.

"X5 332960073452 aka Max….X5 330417291599 aka Zack…. X5 331450074656 aka Tinga" Again Lydecker parrots out their barcodes like it's been branded into his mind and memory.

And then White holds up the last picture which is a screen shot of Eyes Only's freedom streaming video. "State his designation." White's tone is forced and clipped as he leans closer to Lydecker.

"Eyes Only, enemy of Manticore. Identity ….unknown." Max and Zack breathes a breath of relief deep inside but let's nothing show.

White takes a deep breath, he is clearly upset.

"What is the whereabouts of 452?" Bitterness is clearly evident in White's tone.

"Whereabouts of 452 …unknown." Lydecker's voice has turned emotionless except for the straining from pain.

Max breathes a huge sigh of relief in her heart.

"What is the whereabouts of _Zack_?" White uses a name to try and get a different response.

"Un...known." The pain is starting to take it's toll.

"What is the whereabouts of Eyes Only?" White asks as he eyes Lydecker.

Both Zack and Max holds a breath.

"Unknown." Another emotionless answer.

"Tell me who is Eyes Only and where can I find him!" White's cool demeanor breaks as he flips out and starts yelling, he then grabs a small steel table and flings it across the room.

"Unknown." The answer comes almost as if it has been pre-programmed.

White turns to the doctor very unhappy. But then one of the men who has been sitting at one of the monitors watching Lydecker's vitals turns towards White.

"Sir, it would seem that he has some sort of neuro-psych training that Manticore was not aware of, there's nothing in his file." The man informs.

White looks at the man for a moment as he thinks what this could mean.

"Turn it up." White states with no emotion as he turns back to Lydecker. If it kills Lydecker, that's fine too, even though his orders are to keep him alive. He can always say it was an accident.

Lydecker's hands balls into fists and his knuckles goes white as his veins starts to show. His jaw is set as his teeth are clenched and his breathing goes haywire.

And so does Max's, she can't take this anymore. Clearly Lydecker can handle himself but she just can't do this anymore. She starts to look around for something to do, something to use as a weapon but then she remembers that her muscles are still sedated, she would be severely unsuccessful. She looks back at Lydecker, she can tell that he is in so much pain and then…

Screams can be heard as Tinga and Brin are making their way through the hallways. They look at each other and then continue forward, they are armed to the teeth and they are shooting anyone and anything that moves. Screw covert operation.

* * *

"Well physically he is fine besides the obvious wounds but mentally it's too soon to tell. He may end up being a vegetable for the rest of his life." The words are spoken carelessly by Lynda as she puts her examination light away in her pocket.

Logan had found an abandoned building that they can use to regroup and that's where they find themselves currently.

Lydecker has been placed on a couch in a room while the others are outside discussing White and his operation.

Max is standing at the door as Lynda is speaking to Logan about Lydecker. Lynda then leaves as she glances at Max but Max doesn't acknowledge her. Logan follows her out and a while later Logan comes back and finds that Max has not moved from the spot she was standing and just blankly staring at Lydecker.

"Tinga and Brin says that White has other transgenics he is holding captive. We're going to go back see if we can get them out." Logan looks back to Lydecker. "You stay here." Max just nods not really bothered with the White situation at the moment.

After everyone has left and the building is now quiet, Max slowly approaches Lydecker. She looks down at him as a stray tear rolls down her face. His eyes was open at some point but it was just a blank stare. Max remembers how it was after each session, it was like you were brain dead for a while after. Eventually you got right but Lydecker, … _he may end up being a vegetable for the rest of his life…_ He is not genetically engineered, he isn't built for those kind of things like her and the others. That would've caused brain damage, Lydecker knows that as he alluded to it. _"You're going to fry my brain and then you'll get nothing out of me. This is my last words…"_

Max then lifts Lydecker by his shoulders and she moves in behind him and then pulls him back and holds him in a hug. His head is lying back on her shoulder, Max's one arm holding him in a hug and she brings up her other hand and places it on his forehead. She leans her head against his and then she gives him a kiss on the side of his head like he'd do with her. Max then again rests her head against his and starts whispering in his ear.

"I'm sorry." She fighting back tears. "I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner. I'm sorry I wasn't faster, that I wasn't quicker, that I didn't fight harder. I'm sorry I wasn't better…I'm sorry that I didn't consider what you were saying before storming off and now…" She gets out between soft sobs and tears and then she starts crying as the floods gates starts to open.

"I can't lose you, I love you too much." The words comes out just above a whisper as she kisses the side of his head again. "Please don't leave me." She tried to whisper but it came out more of a strangled cry.

* * *

Zack is standing with his arms hanging by his sides as he is watching with a blank stare what he has found when they returned the next morning. He stares and tries to understand but the more he tries, the less sense he is forming of the situation.

He is looking at Max as she is sitting behind Lydecker who she has pulled to herself and is holding in a hug. His head lying backwards on her shoulder and Max with her head against his. They both are asleep. Well Lydecker is out and they don't know if he'll wake up again. Looking at her face, Zack can see the tear stains that tells the story of crying herself to sleep.

All the things that they have discussed and discovered about Lydecker and Max is playing through his mind.

" _He has an obsession with Max…"_ Brin's voice...

" _I will peel every inch of skin from your body if it would bring me one heart beat closer to her…_ " Lydecker's voice...

" _Clearly he was prepared to implicate himself trying to protect Max…"_ Logan's voice...

" _Congratulations…I was never sure about you and kids…she looks just like her mother…"_ Carter's voice...

" _Phone Lydecker…"_ Max's voice...

" _It is such a Lydecker present…"_ Max's voice echoes, happily and cheerfully...

Logan carefully tapping against his arm pulls him out of his trance. He looks to him as Logan silently gestures for him to step outside.

As they enter another room that's empty, Logan clears his throat.

"Um, that is shocking to say the least, I didn't expect that." Logan confesses that it shocked him when he entered the room and found them like that. He knew that Max and Lydecker seemed on good terms but he didn't expect them to be that close.

"Here." Lynda enters the room before there is any further discussion and she has two syringes with her. "This will reverse the effects." She took a blood sample from Zack to see what they were injected with and she has come with an antidote for it.

"I'll get Max." Logan says and Zack watches him leave with the image of Lydecker and Max still very fresh in his mind.

Logan steps into the room and then slowly walks over to Max not to startle her and then he's careful to gently wake her by touching her arm where the jacket she is wearing prevents skin to skin contact.

"Max." Logan whispers and Max wakes and finds Logan crouching next to her.

"Lynda's got something for you." He whispers like he's careful not to wake Lydecker. Well it would be good if he does wake up but at this current moment and position it'll be awkward.

Max realizes the position she has fallen asleep in, holding Lydecker in a hug. She just nods and then Logan leaves the room.

Lying Lydecker down, Max places her hand on his forehead, like he'd do with her. "I'll be back now."

Not too long and Max appears in the room and Zack watches her as he is rolling down his sleeve. Max spares him a glance of guilt as she rolls up hers and then tries her best to pretend that he is not there. She can practically feel Zack breathing fire down her neck about this.

* * *

After Lynda left, Zack had gone to lie down in a room on another floor. He really just needed the peace and quiet, he needs to think, he needs to formulate plans, he needs to be in control.

Zack slightly hisses in pain as he lays himself down on a couch. Damn, that White guy has one hell of a punch. He then holds his hand over his broken rib and closes his eyes as he tries not to think about the stitches on his face that are itching.

"I'm fine." Zack answers even before Logan can ask. He heard Logan follow him down there.

After some silence, Zack exhales. "Lydecker?"

Logan looks over to Zack that has his arm resting over his forehead as he moves to lean back against a table and crosses his arms.

"Lynda says he'll live but things doesn't sound good for his mental state though." But Logan is sure that Zack is already aware of the consequences of the situation.

Logan isn't sure why it is bothering him this much. In all honestly, he really doesn't want that for Lydecker. Or maybe he is more worried about him for Max's sake.

Taking a deep breath Zack speaks. "Logan, she was screaming." A pause…

"She started screaming for it to stop shortly after Lydecker started screaming in agony as his mind was being ripped apart. It was like Max suddenly just crumbled." It pains Zack to say these things. For a moment it was like Max was somebody else that he doesn't know. Someone who is weak.

"She's supposed to be strong and she's supposed to know what to do in a situation like that but then she just broke and that over the person who taught her how react in a situation like that in the first place." There's a touch of absurdity in Zack's tone.

"Clearly things have progressed a lot more than what we have ever thought it will." Logan admits as he lifts himself onto the table top to sit. "It's clear that she's attached to him."

"When I walked in on them this morning…it felt like she has betrayed us and joined the enemy." Zack speaks honestly because that's how it felt seeing Max holding Lydecker like that.

"I know that Lydecker is _possessive_ of Max…" Zack recalls that day when he grabbed Lydecker and threatened him about Max, he clearly saw in his eyes the possessiveness when he responded _if I find out that someone is mishandling Max in anyway, I will kill them myself._

"…I just didn't know that she felt the same way…"

* * *

Lydecker was interrogating Zack in the psy-ops chair in Season 1 ep 13 'The Kidz are Aiight'.

I've already mentioned this before that Lydecker's X5 Manticore identity number is seen in Season 1 ep 20 'Meow'.

Thanks for reading:)

And thanks for all my loyal readers - you know who you are :)

Reviews are welcome.


	17. Chapter 17 Fragile

After entering the room where Lydecker is lying on the couch, Max has been standing leaning back against the door, watching him in silence. She wants to do something, anything, but she doesn't know what. She feels like running, perhaps she can out run her problems, maybe they will just go away...but she knows that won't happen.

Max slowly moves closer to the couch. She then sits down on her knees on the floor next to Lydecker's side and then leans forward as she puts her hand on his head. She looks at the stitches and wounds that Lynda has treated... or at least try to make the bleeding stop. She did a terribly job though, but then again, can she be blamed? This is Lydecker from Manticore.

Leaning forward, Max places her head on his shoulder and softly begins to sob again as she thinks that she may never get another hug from him, another smile, another kiss on the head, another _I love you…_

Max feels movement and instantly sits up looking at Lydecker. His eyes are open but only half lidded but at least the vacant look in his eyes are gone, there's only exhaustion and pain.

"Lydecker." Max whispers. The worry evident in her tone with a hint of relief.

He looks over to Max and tries to say something but swallows when nothing comes out. "I'm okay." He mouths to Max with a slight whisper at the end and he slowly blinks.

Max leans forward and places her forehead on Lydecker's chest and starts crying softly, tears of relief.

Lydecker manages to lift his hand and places it on Max's head and attempts to move his fingers through her hair to comfort her.  
"It's okay." This time his words are audible but just a whisper.

Max then turns her head and lays it down on his chest with his hand on her head as she continues to sniff. Max cannot explain the relief and happiness that is flooding her heart. It's like something very important has been taken away from her and then given back to her again.

* * *

Logan enters the room and finds Max sitting on the floor with her head lying on Lydecker's chest and his hand on her head. _So Lydecker did wake up…that's a good sign._

He softly closes the door behind him and stepping closer he finds that Max has fallen asleep…in an awkward position to be found in. At least Zack didn't see this also. He is already having a heart attack about the situation.

"Max." Logan whispers as he touches her shoulder and as Max wakes up and moves to sit up, Lydecker also wakes up.

Max stays sitting on her haunches watching Lydecker who is slowly blinking and looking around the room, like he's trying to remember where he is and what is going on.

Lydecker feels a distinctive stinging in his head, a very unpleasant one and one that he doesn't expect to leave soon.

He seems to be alright, Logan notices. He was there when Lynda was shining her medical flashlight into this eyes and he was completely unresponsive. And to be honest, Logan feels relieved that Lydecker seems to not be a _'vegetable'._

Lydecker's eyes travels through the room until is falls of Logan. "Cale." He acknowledges his presence and Max notices that his voice is almost normal.

"You seem better." Logan notes as he looks down at him. Zack told him that White was trying to _extract_ information out of Lydecker about Eyes Only and he never said a word, so he owes him – again.

Pulling a dismissive expression, Lydecker answers. "Feels like I've been thrown out of a plane, hit by a train, run over by a bus and then drowned simultaneously for the last 22 days."

Logan is surprised at the sarcasm but he's even more surprised that Lydecker was able to keep track of the time.

Lydecker's face then pulls into a painful expression.

"Do you want painkillers?" Max asks as she watches him. Her mood has clearly lifted now that Lydecker seems to be fine and he gives a nod.

"There's some here." Logan points into the direction of the other room. Lynda brought a whole bunch of meds and stuff.

As soon as Logan is out the door, Lydecker slowly reaches out and places his hand on Max's shoulder and squeezes.  
"I'm alright." Lydecker says as he looks her in the eye, his tone is laced with exhaustion.

Max gives a nod but her expression gives her worry away.

Lydecker moves his other hand to the top of the couch's backrest and then moves to sit up but Max tries to keep him down.  
"Stay down." She says softly.

"Max." Lydecker gains her attention and looks her in the eye as he tilts his head towards her. "I'm fine." Lydecker assures as his serious tone is starting to seep through the cracks of suppressed pain and the exhaustion.

A moment later, Max then helps him move into a sitting position but she stays sitting on her knees watching him, she's so run down physically and emotionally that she doesn't really want to move.

A few stray tears escapes her eyes but its tears of joy that he seems ok. Max feels the warmth on her face as Lydecker leans forward and places his hands on the sides of her face and then gently wipes his thumbs over her cheeks wiping the tears away.

"See, I'm okay." His voice has returned to normal but it's soft as he speaks to her. He then places a kiss on her forehead and then sits back.

"Come." Lydecker gestures to the seat next him and Max gets off the floor and sits next to him but turns towards him as she watches him closely. He has recovered very quickly from the ordeal that has gone down and it doesn't seem right. Within a space of almost 24 hours he went from being a _vegetable_ to being Lydecker.

He lifts his hand and then moves Max's hair behind her ear and then strokes his thumb over her cheek before he drops his hand again. "I am fine Max." His voice has now turned to a slightly stern one like she must believe him and stop worrying.

"How?" Max frowns. "This is not normal." She's whispering like no one else can hear this.

"I'll tell you all about it once we're alone." Lydecker sighs.

Max frowns, but they are alone and at that thought the door opens and Logan appears with a glass of water and pills.

* * *

Later on Max and Logan are sitting at a table talking while Lydecker is still lying on the couch with his arm over his eyes to block out the light.

Having a feeling that someone is watching him, Lydecker lifts his arm and looks to who is next to him and finds Zack sitting on a chair. His arms folded with a stern look on his face. Almost like he wanted Lydecker to wake up to know who is was who killed him.

Lydecker lies his head back down and places his arm over his eyes again having no regard for the wounds on his face.

"Zack."

"Lydecker."

After a long silence of not one of them saying anything, Lydecker speaks up. "How's Max?" He is worried about her, what has happened to him has clearly shaken her, she just turned fragile. She was not supposed to just crumble like that, he's sure that he has taught them better.

"She's fine. She's with Logan." Zack's tone is disapproving. "Since she'd rather confide in him." Zack wished that Max would just trust him and confide in him, he is not the bad guy here, he is only trying to protect her.

"She's in love with him, you do stupid things when you're in love." Lydecker knows what Zack is thinking and tries to explain on behalf of Max.

"One day you'll see." Lydecker speaks like Zack is going to have a girlfriend by next week.

Zack scoffs at this.

"I understand Zack." Lydecker's voice takes on a suspiciously understanding tone. "You're supposed to keep on moving in enemy territory, you're supposed to keep your hands clean and make sure there's nothing and no one that can find you." Zack seems to know that Lydecker is referring to him trying to keep his brothers and sisters safe but they mistake it as being over-protective and controlling. They don't understand.

"You've done good Zack." Lydecker lifts his hand and places it on Zack's shoulder without lifting his arm to see. "I'm proud of you." He gives a slight shake before returning his hand. It is no doubt thanks to Zack's efforts that he had a hard time trying to catch the X5's he has been hunting for over 10 years.

Zack suspiciously eyes Lydecker's hand until he returns it to his side. Is that maybe what Max gets from him, some sort of affirmation? Is that what she is looking for?

"You want to explain what is going on between you and Max?" The tone suddenly changes as Zack shifts the focus of the conversation. Zack already knows that Lydecker is her father, but he wants to hear how he explains it in his own words.

The door suddenly opens and Max steps in. "Zack." She eyes him suspiciously, what would he be doing here? She then looks over to Lydecker and sees him shift his arm, at least Zack hasn't killed him.

Zack is still sitting with his arms crossed. "Lydecker over here is about to explain to me what is going on between the two of you, care to help him as he seems to be at a loss for words." Zack turns to look at Lydecker who hasn't moved his arm from over his eyes like he deems there to be no threat in this room with him.

Max frowns. "Zack, what are you talking about?" Max's tone turns accusing as she goes on the defensive.

"Come now Maxie, I am not blind." Zack manages to calmly respond but there is a clear under current of accusation in his tone.

"Then what does it look like to you Zack?" Lydecker calmly asks with his arm still covering his eyes.

"It looks suspicious." Zack's tone takes a turn to a hostile one as he looks down at Lydecker. "Clearly there is something going on here and I want to know what and I want to know now."

"Zack you should mind your own damn business." Max is clearly ready to start fighting.

"I am minding my business." Zack gets up from the chair as he pins Max with a very serious look.

"Don't fight." Lydecker's calm tone from the couch draws their attention as it suddenly breaks the tension in the room. For some reason those words just made the hostility leave the situation. Like pouring water on two dogs that is about to fight. A tinge of disgust rises in Zack as he realizes how much control Lydecker's word still has over him.

Zack turns his eyes back to Max and then the two of them just watch each other, unsure of what to do or say next.

"Come now Zack, you're smart enough. What do you make of it?" Lydecker's tone still calm like he's got the situation under control but he is pushing Zack towards a conclusion.

"I know that something is going on between the two of you, I have known since Manticore before we ran away." Zack turns from looking at Lydecker to looking at Max again whose expression seems puzzled. _Yes Max I have noticed…_

Zack turns his attention back to Lydecker as he has lifted his arm from this forehead. Lydecker then cringes in suppressed pain as he shifts into a sitting position. Sitting up, he then spots on the table next to the couch, his stuff that he had on him when White and his men captured him. His watch, phone, wallet… they must've found it when they came and rescued him... and them.

After considering it, he then reaches out and picks up his wallet, opens it and starts fishing something out. Zack and Max watches him as they have no idea what role the wallet is supposed to be playing in the middle of this intense showdown.

Taking out something, Lydecker places it on the chair in front of him where Zack was sitting and then slowly pushes it towards him.

"Can you see the resemblance?" That is the only words that Lydecker uses to get to his point.

Zack looks down at a photo. A photo of a woman and Zack doesn't have to question as he knows who she is. It's a photo of Lydecker's wife and as for the resemblance, Zack already knows that Max looks very much like her.

A surge of panic rises in Max. What is Lydecker doing? This is probably the most dangerous person on the planet to be telling about their secret. What if Zack goes ape like he did with Logan and tries to kill Lydecker? Well obviously she will defend him but so much for not fighting over him or not choosing between them. This might get ugly. But then…

"See, you are not even questioning who she is or who I am referring to." Lydecker calmly points out. "You are not even shocked nor surprised." Looking up at Zack, Lydecker can tell that Zack has already connected the dots, no explaining required.

Zack just silently continues to stare at the photo. Sure he knew that Max was his daughter but hearing this coming from Lydecker himself seems to bring far more gravity to the situation.

"You are already aware that Max is my daughter, so I don't know why you are interrogating us about something that you are already aware of." Lydecker tries to keep his tone in check but there is something inside of him that just has to point out other people's follies.

Zack's eyes rise to meet Lydecker's and then he just watches him. There's no anger or hate in his eyes, he just watches him.

On the other hand Max is keeping a close eye on Zack, ready to pounce when he does. _He knew? Zack knew about her and Lydecker?_ That takes Max by surprise. _Do they all know? Did Logan tell them?_ But what is even more questionable is why Zack isn't reacting to this in the way that Max was sure that he would react. _Yelling, accusing, aggression, violence..._

Without another word, Zack turns and leaves the room. As the door clicks closed behind him _it wasn't slammed_ … Max looks at Lydecker with a worried expression.

"He already knew Max." Lydecker comments to lighten the tension.

"Max! Zack!" Logan's voice suddenly rings out from down the hall.

Max opens the door and sticks her head out to hear what the situation is and hears that the police is doing an inspection to make sure there is no squatters in the building.

"Can you move?" Max asks as she is still looking out into the hallway.

"Yep."

Max turns around and finds Lydecker already on his feet.

A moment after looking at Lydecker she affirms. "Ok let's go." That caught Max off guard, but then again so did his very quick recovery.

"Get Max and Lydecker." Logan tells Zack as he leans around a corner to hear when the police are coming their way.

"We're here." Logan and Zack jumps as Lydecker suddenly speaks behind them and they turn around to find him on his feet and good to go. Zack reaches behind him and pulls out a gun and hands it to Lydecker.

Lydecker takes the gun while giving Zack a _but you trust me with a gun_ look.

"They're on the second floor, let's go." Max whispers as she has been listening to when the stairs are clear.

* * *

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	18. Chapter 18 Soldier

After they have fled the building successfully after the police patrols, they decided to split up for now. Max jacked a car and she and Lydecker left, while Zack and Logan went into another direction.

Max is driving as Lydecker is silent in the passenger seat next to her. His head probably still hurts.

"What happened? How did you end up with White?" Max questions.

"I was going to set up another hacking point when my car was hit by a van at an intersection." Lydecker thinks back as he was driving when a black van ran into the side of his SUV pushing him off the road, it was no accident, he was the target.

"I took out as many as I could but there were more soldiers than what I had bullets." Lydecker explains what happened.

"It's a good thing White wanted you alive or else they would've returned fire." Max comments.

"Oh but they did. I've got a hole in my arm that attests to that." Lydecker slightly motions to his other arm.

"You've been shot?" Max asks slightly shocked. Even though they were fully aware that Lydecker has been tortured for about three weeks by those conclave nuts, they didn't even think about any other injuries. They were, well she was more concerned with what state he was going to wake up in and that's if he even woke up.

"Nothing to worry about, it has been cauterized." Lydecker drawls as he is staring ahead on the road that they are travelling. They didn't just cauterize the wound because of their love and care, they used it as a means of torture.

Max gives Lydecker a sideways glance, she can see the lines of suppressed pain and exhaustion on his face and then her eyes travels over his form wondering what other injuries he might have.

Upon returning back home, Max helped Lydecker to his room, not like he needed it much but she did notice that he was limping. She then went to the kitchen to get him something to eat, he is probably starving. When she comes back she finds Lydecker in the bathroom busy cleaning the wounds on his face. He particularly focuses on the deep cut just to the side of his hair line that has bad stitching.

"I'll redo those." Max speaks up.

Lydecker just continues on like he did not hear her.

"Come." Max has learned that sometimes Lydecker needs a push, so she steps up to him, confiscates the medical box and then takes him by the arm and leads him to the kitchen where the light is best.

Lydecker then sits down at the table on one of the high bar stools with his head tilted towards the light and Max proceeds to remove the bad stitches to replace them. That cow Lynda, she at least could've done them properly but then again why should she? This is the man who threatened her and then tried to kill her.

"I'm still waiting for that explanation." Max reminds him as she continues with the wound.

After a deep breath Lydecker speaks with a sigh. "I'm cognitively enhanced."

Max wonders for a while and then she recalls from last night when she was holding his head. Occasionally she would run her fingers through his hair like he would do with her. She felt scars running over his scalp.

"I felt the scars." Max whispers. "It that why you don't sleep much?" She has been curious about that.

"My mind doesn't slow down. Alcohol seems to be the only thing that can get that right." Lydecker sighs. "A soldier who does not need a lot of sleep, has a brilliant memory and is mentally sharp and accurate 24/7 is a very valuable asset. Especially if the government paid for the procedure."

"That's why they didn't kill you." Max remembers Lydecker telling her that day after the conversation with Carter.

"Hmm." Lydecker confirms.

"The program that you went through, so that you will forget…it was something like psy-ops?" Max carefully questions. Is that why he has recovered from it so quickly?

"Yes." Lydecker confirms as he is busy staring off into space.

So they also messed with his mind? Did Manticore make him the way that he is? But that guy said that his Manticore file didn't have anything about him having neuro-psych training, so clearly Manticore doesn't even know about it. But what about the people who put him there as the director? Max wonders...

"I'm no victim Max. I volunteered for the program from the very start." Lydecker is still not making eye contact.

"Why?" After a moment of contemplation Max questions in almost a whisper. Why would anyone want to do that to themselves?

"So that I can be a better soldier." Lydecker simply states as if it's the most logical thing.

Lydecker then suddenly turns towards her.

"Max, you don't have to be faster or quicker or better." Lydecker gives her a serious look.

Max realizes that he was fully aware when she whispered those things to him. She suddenly wonders if she should be embarrassed of the very truthful things that slipped out of her mouth at that moment.

"I could've saved you pain if I had found you sooner and not gotten myself caught too." Max admits what's on her mind and she has been beating herself with it.

"You cannot save everyone from pain but you can teach them how to endure it." Lydecker's voice turns to instructor mode out of nowhere and then he pins her with a serious look. "And don't get emotionally involved when someone is being tortured, you only make yourself a soft target." He was so disappointed that Max slipped up on this one, she's supposed to know better.

"Now it's first an instruction." Max notes to herself somewhat annoyed as she breathes a sigh of irritation and then she scratches around in the medical kit.

Lydecker gives half a smile and then ducks his head. "My wife used to say that." His tone suddenly soft. She would be trying to have a normal conversation with him and then suddenly he would just switch into soldier mode about something.

He then lifts his head and looks straight ahead of him again. "White's going to have to die, he can't walk around knowing what he does now." He surely would've caught how Max reacted.

"Knowing what? That there actually exists a person that cares about you?" Max notes as she thinks back to what happened. She didn't even realize that she was screaming until Zack clamped a hand over her mouth.

"In my line of work, that is not a good idea. People get hurt." Lydecker confesses with a cold tone.

After a moment of silence, Max moves to give Lydecker a hug when he catches her arm and puts it over his shoulder instead.

"I've got a broken rib."

Max closes her eyes as she holds onto him. He really doesn't complain much at all about anything personal, like pain. She thinks back to that day when she and Zack had him tied to a chair and blindfolded and was trying to get him to talk and then he broke one of his own fingers. And then he never mentioned that finger again. She notices this, he suppresses so much pain, physical and mental. But she knows that he is very much capable of feeling pain.

Lydecker slowly starts rubbing her back. "It's okay Max." She didn't even realize that she was crying until a wet tear rolls down her nose. It only makes her want to cry more. She has realized that she has come to care for him far more than what she ever thought possible. And it was only when she got close to losing him that she realized what she had.

"I thought you've retired from Manticore?" Max asks after a short silence as she caught how Lydecker used the present tense about his _'line of work'._

"From Manticore yes, but there is still an objective to be completed." For a moment Lydecker sounds just like one of his own soldiers.

"The objective is not the only important thing." Max tells Lydecker what she told Jace.

"Without the objective there is no purpose." Now Lydecker seriously sounds like one of the Manticore soldiers. Is that why he drilled into them that the objective is the only important thing because that's what has been put into his mind? Is that why they put him in charge of Manticore because that's how they made him? But he just said that he is no victim, that he volunteered…

"And how do I fit into that?" Max carefully asks, this just made her wonder about what exactly she is if the _objective_ is so damn important.

Lydecker pulls out of the hug and places his hands on Max's upper arms as he holds her and looks at her. "My objective concerning you, is to be to you the father that I could never be." Every word is laced with absolute sincerity and seriousness.

He then places his hand behind her neck and pulls her closer to put a kiss on her forehead. He then keeps her close as he looks her in the eye with their foreheads almost touching. "I love you Max and don't you ever doubt that." He then pulls her back into a hug.

Max tightly grips him as she returns the hug but then she remembers about his broken rib and bullet wound in the arm so she slackens the hug, who knows what other injuries he has that he's not sharing.

After Max had taken care of his wounds, the visible ones, given him something to eat and pain tabs, she wanted to send him to bed to rest but he insisted that he is first going to take a shower. So Max is currently sitting in his chair, at his desk waiting for him to finish.

The events of what has happened plays through her mind. When Zack and herself were jumped by those conclave soldiers she put up a good fight, now that she has extra power and strength from the implant, she could almost rival them. Only problem was exactly what Lydecker pointed out, she has not learned how to balance her speed and new found strength. It made her fighting sloppy.

Zack of course had a gun and he was not afraid to use it but when she was fighting solo hand to hand and got knocked out… she is the reason why they got caught. Her fighting wasn't up to scratch.

Max thinks back to when Lydecker suggested that she use the stage 3 training disks from Manticore to enhance her perception, he saw this coming and she chose to walk away.

She was about to lift her feet onto the chair to hug her knees when she thinks to herself that Lydecker probably won't appreciate her shoes on his chair. So she leans forward, crosses her arms on the desk and lays her head down. She's exhausted herself but with the concern over Lydecker, she hasn't really rested.

Feeling something on her face, Max opens her eyes and realizes that she has fallen asleep.

"Are you alright?" Lydecker asks as he is moving her hair out of her face.

"I'm ok." Max sits up with a strangled yawn and then gets out of his chair and without missing a beat, Lydecker sits down.

"What are you doing?" Max asks as she can see that Lydecker has no intention of resting, which he should be doing.

"I just want to check the monitors that I have running on the hacks." As Lydecker reaches out towards his keyboard, the sleeves of his turtle neck jersey pulls back and reveals the wounds on his wrists. They are red, swollen, bruised and covered in dried wounds. That points out that he was hung up by his wrists. Max then also notices that Lydecker have already cleaned and treated them.

She has noticed that Lydecker seems very detached about his injuries, just like a soldier. Just like they have been taught back at Manticore. Deal with the wound, don't complain and keep moving no matter how bad or how painful it is.

Something tugs at Max's heart. Maybe he forced them into that mold back at Manticore because it is all that he knows. But then Max also keeps in mind that Lydecker has not once told her to suck it and keep moving. He has shown her compassion and care and affection. He has treated her like it's ok to be hurt, that it is ok to not be ok. Maybe that is what she should now show him.

"You're doing a lot more than just checking a hack." Max uses a tone of talking to a rebellious teenager.

Lydecker lifts his eye brows as he gives her a look.

"You need to rest. Maybe your mind doesn't but your body does." Her tone switches to an explanatory one. Max knows that sometimes her own mind can out run her body and then she'll sleep not because she feels tired but because her body is run down.

Looking back to the screen, the expression of Lydecker's face clearly tells that he is well aware that she's right.

A moment later he stands up but then he stands still for a moment as if he is dizzy and then he turns and heads for his room with Max following close on his heels. Just in case he pulls out a laptop there and continues working, she wouldn't be surprise.

But then Lydecker goes to lie down on his bed without even bothering to take off his shoes and that only points more to the fact that he is beyond tired. He then shifts into a comfortable position, closes his eyes and starts to breathe deeply. Like a sleeping technique.

Max takes a seat on the chair after she has moved it a bit closer out of the corner. She then takes her shoes off before pulling her legs up and crosses her arms over them.

The silence is broken when Lydecker suddenly speaks. "So, why is White so desperate to get his hands on you?" Lydecker clearly picked up that there is something else going on besides White just hunting down the next transgenic.

By the time that White had him strapped to that chair, he had already gotten one of his wishes in life and that was Max who was standing on the other side of the observation window, which Lydecker was unaware of. That left the information about Eyes Only to be _extracted,_ among other things that White wanted to know about Manticore.

"I took his son."

There's a moment of silence and she can practically feel Lydecker frowning, so she continues to explain everything to him. By the time she is finished she realizes that Lydecker is partly in this condition because he was protecting her too and not just Logan.

"I'm sorry." After a brief silence Max speaks.

"It is not your fault." Lydecker responds in an understanding tone.

"No, I mean I'm sorry for storming off that day without considering what you were saying was absolutely true." Her tone apologetic.

"It's alright, I understand." His tone clearly says that he holds nothing against her.

"If I…" Max is still beating herself up about it. If she had actually considered what Lydecker was saying and paid attention to her strength and perception co-ordination, then she and Zack wouldn't have been captured.

If Brin and Tinga didn't show up when they did and how they did…

"Max it is not my safety I'm worried about or anyone else's, it's your safety that I'm worried about." Lydecker tells her as he keeps his eyes closed.

Max looks over at Lydecker, her usual response would've been _I can take care of myself_ but she failed on that one and she even got others in harm's way.

After that there is only silence as Max is thinking about what could've happened to her and Zack if Tinga and Brin didn't save the day.

TBC...

* * *

Lynda's real identity is Hannah, Lydecker tried to kill her in Season 1 ep 2 'Heat'

In Season 1 ep 7 'Cold Comfort', Logan finds information about Lydecker from before Manticore, he was already a soldier and a good one at that.

Also in Season 1 ep 7 'Cold Comfort' is where Lydecker breaks his own finger.

Thanks for reading:)

Max told Jace that everything else is important but the objective in Season 1 ep 14 'Female Trouble'.


	19. Chapter 19 Broken

The chirping of birds in the early morning wakes Max and she finds herself on the chair where she fell asleep last night watching Lydecker. But there is no Lydecker on the bed where she left him, only sheets that has neatly been smoothed out.

She finds him in the bathroom busy spitting blood into the sink. Did he cough up blood or something else maybe? But then her eyes travels down and sees a bloody tooth on the sink that has been pulled out with the pair of guilty pliers lying next to it.

Images of Ben and his tooth-pulling escapades flashes through her memory.

"What are you doing?" Max's tone clearly expresses that the sight is disturbing to her.

"The tooth turned bad." Lydecker nonchalantly answers as he continues to rinse the blood out of his mouth. Getting punched repeatedly in the face sometimes ends like that. He has lost a tooth in this manner before, when he was still in the army. Him and his unit was captured and tortured for information over a period of a hellish few weeks. That experience contributed greatly to his ' _survival of the fittest'_ notions.

"Of all the resources that Manticore had and you've never heard of a dentist?" Max offers in a tone disapproving of his behavior.

"The tooth is out, what do I need a dentist for?" Lydecker's tone is still nonchalant, like his tooth has not just been pulled out without any anesthetic.

Lydecker then rinses his mouth with a mixture of something in a glass to stop the bleeding.

There's a moment of silence as Max watches him. His turtle neck jersey's sleeves are pulled up and she can see the wounds on his wrists, they are red and swollen, showing that they are infected. And she spots a plaster that has a bloody wound underneath, probably where he was shot?

She then enters and takes a seat on the cabinet next to the sink as Lydecker is wiping his face. Max then picks up the disinfectant and a clean cotton pad from the medical kit sitting next to the sink.

Reaching out, Max takes Lydecker's arm and then cleans the wound circling his wrist in silence. As she is doing so, she notices that he is missing a few finger nails and then wonders if he has any broken fingers.

" _So far he has resisted torture of the old fashioned kind"._ White's voice echoes.

Memories of being a kid back at Manticore flashes in her mind of when they were seated in that dark and dreary class room with their arms neatly out on the desks before them with Lydecker marching up and down in the front.

" _No one can resist torture indefinitely, not even you. You will reveal what you know…"_

Back then they all saw Lydecker as being the torturer inflicting pain upon them but now there's a different feeling. Seeing Lydecker as have been in the situation of being tortured. All of a sudden the instructions that he gave in that class room appears more like imparted knowledge about something that he has personal experience about to enrich their chances of survival.

After cleaning the wound, Max then gently applies disinfectant cream and then puts on a thin layer of bandage to keep it clean.

As Max is busy cleaning the wound on his other arm, Lydecker silently leans forward and then places a lingering kiss on her forehead. A small smile spreads across Max's face. Lydecker sometimes struggle with words, unless he is giving out orders and instructions. His actions is what gives him away, like that day Tinga gave herself up in exchange for her son's life. When she cursed at him – the way he grabbed hold of the fencing as he expressed himself…

"It's ok, I understand." After some silence, Lydecker whispers as he is watching her intently. Max glances at him and she can see the emotion in his eyes. "I probably would've reacted the same way if it was you screaming." Lydecker's voice is barely above a whisper.

After thinking about it, he is sorry for kind of berating Max about that. Yes she's supposed to be a well-trained soldier but it's only afterwards that he calculated the emotional attachments into the equation.

"I only heard you screaming." Max whispers in reply as she is focusing on the wound. "I didn't even realize that I was screaming."

Lydecker knows that he cares very much for Max but it wasn't until three days ago that he realized that Max cares just as much for him.

 _"I can't lose you,…please don't leave me…"_

When his wife was still alive she would worry about him and his well being but after she died, there was no one who cared. So there was no reason to be too careful about what happened to him because no one would be affected. But now that he knows how much Max cares, he cannot be that selfish anymore.

After bandaging the other wrist also, Max pulls of the plaster from Lydecker's arm. It is the bullet wound but she thought that it was cauterized?

"The bullet was still in there." Lydecker informs her in an emotionless tone. After digging the bullet out last night, he left the wound open to be properly sterilized overnight before he finished the job this morning but his tooth got first priority when he woke up.

Max proceeds to clean the wound again and then Lydecker reaches for something and then holds out a pocket knife to her with a lighter. Max gives him a glance as she takes it from him.

Holding the knife over the sink, Max pours some disinfectant over the blade and then proceeds to hold it over the flame of the lighter. When the blade is red hot, Max takes hold of Lydecker's arm and then pushes it down.

The soft sizzling of flesh is heard as Lydecker's face screws up in pain as he turns his face away and a hiss of pain escapes from him. He clearly feels pain, he is not just walking around with all these wounds not feeling anything. He's just very good at hiding it.

When the job is done, Max quickly removes the knife and then applies disinfectant cream and puts a new plaster over the wound. She then pulls his sleeve down signaling that she is done.

Lydecker pulls down his other sleeve down also and then starts cleaning up and putting the medical things away that is lying over the sink.

"Are you alright?" Lydecker asks turning the attention to her. As far as he knows she doesn't have any injuries but just to be sure.

Max nods her head. "White didn't lay a finger on me, he was using Zack as a punching bag though."

"He was hurting Zack to make you talk. Next time he will know who to hurt." Lydecker is referring to himself. White now knows.

After thinking about it for a moment Max slips off of the cabinet. "I'm going to make breakfast." She announces as she heads for the kitchen.

* * *

A day later Max is leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed as she is watching Lydecker asleep on his bed. She really should be getting back to Logan and the others but she doesn't feel like facing them and their tidal wave of questions at this moment.

It would seem that Zack knows about her and Lydecker, well not the exact truth but close. And if he knows, then surely the others know also. How long have they known then? So, they have been talking about her behind her back and pretending like everything is fine to her face. And that just makes this all the more uncomfortable.

Maybe she'll hang around here a few more days until the situation is calmer perhaps.

And maybe she wants to stay here because she doesn't want to leave Lydecker alone. Not that he needs any help, he is more than capable of taking care of himself. But it is something else that is keeping her here, something else that doesn't want to allow her to leave.

Looking at Lydecker, Max recalls the things that has happened over the past few days. She has learned some things about him during this time.

It's like his mind is still operating as if he is still a soldier at war in a way.

Max thinks back to when she ran into Lydecker at that genetics conference…

" _You look like you were around in the days before the pulse…do you really think that your childhood prepared you for the life that you have to live now?"_

Of course, Lydecker didn't know who he was talking to at that moment.

" _The Pulse had some positive aspects…toughened the world…strengthening of the species…"_

Max remembers how his tone turned somewhat distant, cold and detached.

" _That's a pretty grim view of things…"_ Max responded.

" _Not grim...realistic…"_ Lydecker's eyes had a glazed look as he was staring off into nothing.

"… _survival of the fittest…"_

Max remembers how the tone and atmosphere of Lydecker's words just seemed to pull her back into the dark world of Manticore.

" _Perhaps you should do something with that gun before someone else gets hurt."_ Max suggested.

" _It's tactically premature, things are going to get worse before they get better…."_

As Max is looking at Lydecker's sleeping form and thinking about these things, she has come to the realization that there is something broken inside of him. There is something broken inside of him as a person, as a human being.

From the incident where Lydecker got struck by a blunt object from the explosion and suffering a bad concussion, and then being tortured by White and his conclave crazies and who knows what else they did to him…

Lydecker doesn't slow down, he just keeps on going as if nothing has happened. And Max keeps on getting this distinct feeling around him, - well in his own words… " _What the mind can conceive the body can achieve…"_

If it wasn't for Max insisting that he rests, she wonders if he even would've.

It's almost like he is a wind up toy soldier that only has a one direction setting.

Max's eyes drops to the floor as a tug of pain pulls at her heart as she is feeling sorry for him but then she remembers… he said that he volunteered. But Max cannot think that any normal person would volunteer themselves to be this messed up…would they?

But then on the other hand, it's not like Lydecker is completely lost either. Max can tell that he knows what family means. She can tell that he knows what love, care and affection is. He knows what forgiveness is. Lydecker is not someone with no emotions, in fact, Lydecker is actually a very emotional person. What makes the difference seems to be what he pours that emotion into.

" _If you knew how much I loved her, you'd understand…."_ Lydecker voice echoes.

It would seem that if Lydecker pours his emotions into something, then it can become a very dangerous thing.

Then thinking back to when she and Zack had Lydecker tied to a chair in that warehouse that day.

" _You tortured us, beat us down!"_ Max hears her own voice as she was confronting Lydecker. She remembers how upset she was.

" _You were in training to become a soldier."_ But Lydecker's voice was calm and his tone was like it was the most normal thing in the world what was done to them.

" _We were children…"_ Max's tone was an unbelievable one, she remembers how she couldn't believe how he just answered her, almost as if he didn't understand it.

" _And you're remembering it through a child's eyes…"_ Lydecker's tone on the other hand was like it was her who didn't understand.

Then Max remembers agents Carter's words to Lydecker, _"I was never sure about you and kids…"_ Clearly Carter knew that Lydecker and kids was a bad combination.

Max also thinks back to when they were in that hotel room and Lydecker was drunk. It really was a scary thing to wake up to… but when he spoke, he was being honest, he wasn't playing any games.

" _I shouldn't have showed favoritism…but…you're special to me Max, I hope that you know that…."_

The words echoes in her memory. It was like Lydecker had a set of rules and regulations to operate by but when it came to her, he was willing to overlook it because… _you're special to me Max…_

So, the difference between Lydecker being slightly psycho and being normal…is her?

Max pushes away from the door frame and before she walks away down the hall, she spares Lydecker a glance. This kind of makes her feel responsible for him, almost like she's an….anchor?... to keep him in normal reality?

Making her way through the house and then down into the basement, Max finds herself standing at the table where she left Lydecker that day, the last time she saw him before the whole 'kidnapped by White' thing.

The stage 3 visual components disks are still sitting right where they were left.

" _You have not learned how to balance your speed with your new found strength by adjusting your perception to your unique ability."_ She remembers Lydecker telling her that. The way that Lydecker said it and the tone that he used, he is still the same old director of Manticore through and through. That's why she bailed on him so quickly, it had upset her.

But it doesn't matter how Max feels about the situation, Lydecker was right. And she knows that it is true. After her and Zack got caught because she was being stubborn, it has made her realize this.

Max stares at the disks.

White and friends are not going to miraculously disappear overnight. No doubt they'll run into them again. And after they are gone, who knows what other bad guys will come into their lives then and every time there's new bad guys, they seem to get worse than before. And she will do whatever she has to, to protect herself, protect her brothers and sisters, to protect Logan, to protect her family…and she'll be honest, to protect Lydecker.

Max keeps on looking at the disks as she has decided to use them… is this what Lydecker was thinking when he _volunteered_? _To protect…?_

Grabbing the disks, Max makes her way upstairs to Lydecker's office.

* * *

Ben pulled out peoples teeth in Season 1 ep 17 'Pollo Loco'.

Lydecker gave Max his whole ' _survival of the fittest'_ speech in Season 1 ep 6 'Prodigy'.

Lydecker gives them the class back at Manticore about being tortured in Season 1 ep 13 'The kidz are aiight'.

Max confronted Lydecker about them being trained as kids in Season 1 ep 7 'Cold Comfort'.

Lydecker told Max that she is special to him in Season 1 ep 21 'Casserole'.

Thanks for reading :)


	20. Chapter 20 Suspicion

Brin is sitting at the kitchen table eating away at an omelet that Logan had made for breakfast. He has taken his plate and coffee to his office as he is busy with something on his computer. Zack has been missing since they came back after they rescued them from White. Tinga and her family has been keeping their distance until the heat has cooled off.

Tinga and Charlie is going to move to Canada as soon as all the arrangements are done. Zack, well no one knows what Zack's plans are, he is secretive that way. Brin has decided to hang around Logan's place until she is told to move on by either, Logan, Max or probably Zack.

She can get used to this. It's a nice place to stay in a high building, in a nice part of town. Logan loves cooking so there is always something to eat. And the best of everything so far was that she's had the chance to spent time with her brothers and sisters. And just like everybody else, she is just waiting for the moment when everybody splits up and disappears to who knows where until who knows when.

At least she knows if she stays here, she will always have Max around. Max doesn't seem to be all that concerned with ' _keep moving in enemy territory'._ And Brin can tell that Zack is extremely unhappy with her about that. Well, she is starting to think that Zack is unhappy with Max because she doesn't listen to anything he says. She just does whatever she likes.

Brin smiles at this thought. That's the life she always wanted to have. That's the life that they all wanted to have, that's why they ran away from Manticore. But even after she was free from Manticore, she was still not free. And even less so when Zack showed up one day and made sure that she stayed in-line with all their Manticore training to remain under the radar and not get caught. But Max seems to be free from that.

Thinking about Max, Brin's thoughts travels to what has happened over the last few days. When Logan knocked on the spare bedroom door and telling her about Max and Zack running off to infiltrate the enemy's base and then calling Tinga. She remembers how she and Tinga made their way through White's base. Before they even entered they decided that it's a kill or be killed situation and so they shot whoever moved. But neither she nor Tinga expected to find what they did.

Lydecker strapped to a psy-ops chair.

And nobody expected him to walk away from that one but then she heard that he made a full recovery within a span of 24 hours. Something is definitely going on there. Brin then remembers about Lydecker's Manticore ID X5 number. Maybe that all connects?

Brin thinks back to when Zakes and his men fixed the implant in Max's head. For some bizarre reason Zack had elected her to stand watch in the same room as Lydecker. She remembers how she made sure that she made absolutely no eye contact with him. She tried to stay on the other side of the room as him at all times. She hoped with everything in her that he just doesn't talk to her, ask her anything or address her in anyway. She is still afraid of how she might respond. She is afraid that the psy-ops sessions that turned her into the Manticore mascot is still somewhere in the back of her mind.

But the thing that bothered her the most was that she doesn't know if Lydecker is out to get her. She did follow Renfro's orders behind his back. And if Renfro didn't die that night when Manticore burned down, she would've died by a bullet from Lydecker's gun at some point or another - she can assure anyone of that. Lydecker is the kind that holds onto a grudge.

She remembers when he was interrogating her about what happened when she took off with Tinga and other Manticore operatives tried to capture Max and Tinga's son also. Lydecker was calmly asking about the details that she had already explained but it was like he knew that there was more to the story and he was calmly extracting it from her. And then that moment when she slipped up and mentioned Sandoval…Lydecker's expression clearly told that someone is going to pay. And sure as day, Sandoval was found murdered soon after.

That's the thing that scares her. She was just as guilty as Sandoval. They both were taking orders from Renfro behind Lydecker's back. Yes, Renfro out ranks Lydecker but Lydecker is not the person to screw around with, whether someone pulls rank or not. Sandoval is dead, Renfro would've been dead soon anyway and Brin is just waiting for the bullet that has her name on it. Nobody betrays Lydecker…nobody.

Brin hopes that Max is aware of that. Sure she may be his _daughter…Brin is still having a hard time getting use to calling Max that._ But that doesn't mean that Lydecker is changed. The man is dangerous, there is no doubt about that and it will do everyone good to beware of him.

* * *

Zack is sitting on the space needle looking out over the dark city. He came here in hope that he might find Max but after sitting here since noon day, he has decided that Max is not even in town. OC has not seen her at their apartment or at Jam Pony. She has not been at their favorite hangout where they go drinking on Friday nights. And she hasn't been in contact with Logan either.

He asked Logan if he had a way to contact Max, and Logan told him about the burn phone but then assured him that Max just needs some time alone and that she will come back when she is good and ready. It has only been two days now, so he'll give her a bit more time and then…and then what?

And then what? He searches everywhere? Use every available resource to hunt down Max and Lydecker, bust down the door, shoot Lydecker, and save Max and be the hero of the day?

No.

Zack scoffs as he tosses a stick he has been swinging around in his hand.

Max doesn't want to be saved from Lydecker. That is exactly where she wants to be. He remembers how Max started screaming and then he remembers the cold chill that ran down his spine when he found Max holding Lydecker like that.

Really?

They go from hating the man, fearing the man, running away from the man for years …to holding him?

Shaking his head, Zack tries to make it fit into a more logical box.

What if Max has some kind of Stockholm syndrome? But Max has always been running away from him and as far as he knows she has not been held captive by Lydecker.

What if Lydecker is lying to Max? But what would that accomplish, Manticore doesn't exist anymore and what would make Max so special from the rest of them unless she is his … _daughter. Zack is having a hard time even calling Max that in his thoughts._ That is also the only explanation for Lydecker's _obsession and possessiveness_ with Max since they were kids.

Zack remembers when they were observing how Lydecker parroted out their barcodes when he was strapped to that chair. That was not normal. He is definitely not another normal person on the street. There is definitely something going on. He almost sounded like one of the soldiers from Manticore that he trained himself. And then 24 hours later, he is on his feet and sharp as ever. And that's after Lynda, who was a _doctor_ at Manticore in the psy-ops department, told them that there is no way Lydecker's mind will recover from that.

And then there is the thing about Lydecker's Manticore ID of an X5 number…

What if Lydecker is like a programmed soldier placed at the head of Manticore so that it functioned in a certain manner? What if he is something like _programmed_ with a certain set of orders? What if he is someone or something that they are not even aware of?

Zack stands up, maybe they should be getting Max away from him.

* * *

"Where's that phone?"

Logan almost falls off his chair when Zack suddenly stomps into his office and starts demanding things.

"What for?" Logan carefully asks as he has caught sight of the serious look on Zack's face.

"I'm phoning Max." Zack declares.

"Max will show up when…"

"No. We need to phone Max now." Logan calmly tries to speak but then Zack cuts him off with a stern voice.

"What's going on?" Brin asks as she stands in the door.

"Max." Zack turns around to look at Brin. "I think that we should get Max away from Lydecker."

"Why?" Logan carefully asks. Sure he knows that Zack didn't like what he saw with Lydecker and Max but he was actually very calm about it. So why the sudden hostility now?

Zack sighs. "I don't like it."

"Zack, you don't like anything." Brin quietly responds to Zack with a tone of _what are you on about anyway?_

"I don't like it." Zack repeats as he lifts his shoulders almost like the gesture is going to explain it better. "I don't trust Lydecker." He then paces to the other side of the room. "Something isn't right. Things are just not adding up."

Logan and Brin watches Zack in silence as he looks out of the window with his back to them.

Zack then turns around. "Max is Lydecker and his dead wife's child…right?" There's a pause as he lets that sink in. "Then how does Max end up at Manticore being a genetically engineered soldier?"

There is silence in the room as everyone is thinking about the question.

Logan looks to his computer screen as he is kind of ashamed that he didn't even think of it that way. He was just happy to accept that Max is Lydecker's daughter, they are good, life's good and happily ever after. But he didn't think about it like this. How did Max then end up being a genetically engineered soldier?

"You haven't even thought about that have you?" Zack's tone is accusing as he pins Logan with a glare. It's like this is all Logan's fault the way Zack is looking at him.

Logan wanted to respond with _'it took you a long time to come up with this too'_ but then Logan remembers how Zack went bonkers and tried to kill him, so he then decides not to get into it with Zack.

The thought crosses Brin's mind, " _see I was right, the man is a psycho."_ She was right to be wary and cautious of him. But now Max is with him and she is completely unsuspecting…

"Where's the phone?" Zack asks Logan again.

Logan tries to think of something, anything to try and stall. Sure there are questions here that needs to be answered but this is being rushed, nothing good ever comes from being rushed. "Let's just take a moment to think this through."

Pulling a suspicious expression, Zack asks. "Why are you protecting him?"

"I'm not protecting him. All I'm saying is, let's just take a moment to think about this before we rush into something." Logan tries to keep the situation calm.

Without another word, Zack brushes past Logan and then starts emptying out his drawers. Logan decides to rather let Zack do what he wants, he doesn't want to make an enemy out of him.

Zack grabs the phone as soon as it falls onto the desk. He hits the dial button and the atmosphere in the room goes tense as they wait to see what happens. But the only thing that happens is an 'out-of-service' tone.

The three shares a glance. Does this mean they need to panic? What if Max is in danger?

The next moment they have a map of the city and beyond the city limits.

"We know that the location is an hour away." Zack comments as he remembers it took Lydecker an hour to get to Logan's penthouse that day when Max had that very bad seizure. He grabs a pen and he starts measuring out locations in that distance.

Logan is busy checking on the computer for any buildings or activities in those locations.

Zack has everyone so worked up that the only thing they are thinking is to find Max and to find her now.

* * *

Lydecker wakes up and sees a light is on down the hall. It looks like it could be the office light. He tries to remember if he left it on but then he remembers that Max was there with him.

Getting up and making his way down the hall, Lydecker finds Max sitting on his chair, leaning forward onto his desk with her elbows and resting her chin in her hands as she is intently watching something on the screen and he recognizes it to be the stage 3 visual components.

"Max." Lydecker tries to get her attention but there is no response.

"Max." Lydecker raises his voice.

"Hm." Max acknowledges in a very faint manner and then as if she is broken out of her thoughts, she turns to him. "Yes."

"How many of them did you watch?" Lydecker's tone is almost cautionary.

"All of them." Max answers matter-a-factly.

Lydecker watches Max for a moment. "How are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Do you have a headache? Is your vision impaired? Are you feeling light headed?"

Max rubs her hands down her face as she groans in irritation. "Not the 20 questions again."

There's a pause and then Lydecker responds softly. "All I'm saying is that it wasn't meant to be watched all in one session." His tone is cautionary, he doesn't want to upset her but this is sort of important.

Max gestures a ' _so what'_ with her shoulders. "There wasn't any instructions on it." Her tone is dismissive. "I am however feeling hungry."

Before Max can get up, Lydecker gestures with his hand for her not to move. "Don't get up too quickly."

Max slowly sits back as she is watching Lydecker. It's not like she is under the influence of psychoactives, it was just like watching a movie, just like he said. So what's the problem? Max then looks around the room to see if there is something wrong with her. Is the room floating? No. Is she floating? Maybe, she is a bit light headed but nothing that she would deem a reason to stay down for.

Slowly getting up from the chair, Max holds out her hands just in case she falls over. After a moment of standing on her feet and waiting for something to happen, Max drops her hands as she turns to Lydecker. "Nope, all good."

Lydecker steps out of the doorway as Max comes past him. He watches as Max makes her way to the kitchen. She isn't swaying and she doesn't seem to be affected at all. Looking back to the computer, Lydecker narrows his eyes. That's interesting. After multiple experimental sessions, it was established that only two sessions was the limit, and that even for an X7. Max just went through all twelve of them and she seems perfectly fine.

"You want coffee?" Max asks as she puts the kettle on and then goes scratching in the fridge for something to eat.

"You watched all twelve?" Lydecker asks Max as he comes into the kitchen, just to make sure of the facts.

"Yeah, I can count." Max almost flippantly answers as she takes a bite of food and vigorously chews on it as she paces to the other side of the kitchen. Lydecker notices that she is very hyper.

"Max." Lydecker gets her attention as he picks up a butcher knife from the counter.

As soon as Max has turned towards Lydecker, he throws the knife. Not at her, it'll just go right past her.

Before Max can even ask herself what Lydecker is doing, she notices that something is going on. She looks at the knife coming towards her, she looks at the knife turning in the air and she finds herself fleetingly noting that Lydecker knows how to throw a knife. But then she notices something else. It's like the knife is coming towards her in slow motion.

This is definitely not normal. Sure she knows what slow motion looks like. When she moves quickly, everything else seems to be in slow motion. But this is different, she is not even moving. She then notes how she doesn't even need to catch the knife, she just slowly lifts her hand and basically takes the knife out of the air. As soon as the knife is in her hand, everything returns to normal.

Max looks over the Lydecker who has an expectant expression. "Anything different?"

"Oh yes." Max answers.

Lydecker was about to comment _"Remarkable"_ but he doesn't because Max is not going to like it if he starts wording his experimental findings. He then goes over to the counter and takes out a cup and proceeds to make the coffee as Max is standing looking at the knife in her hand.

Lydecker notes how it is far beyond any result they got from trying out the stage 3 components in a lab setting. Max had gone through all the sessions in one sitting, she seems to have no major side effects and she is already adjusting to the _programming_. This is impossible. He wonders if this has anything to do with that Max has no junk DNA. He has that folder in his office, he'll look it over again.

"Hey Lydecker."

The moment Lydecker turns around, Max does exactly the same thing that he has just done with her and she throws the knife, not directly at him but into his direction. And it is no surprise to Max when Lydecker reaches out and catches the knife before it turns the fridge into a dart board. _Knife board._

"I was wondering if you could do that." Max innocently comments. Lydecker probably doesn't appreciate being played with but she is special and she knows she will get away with it.

"I can't see that knife coming to save my life but I can however calculate as to where is it going to end up." Lydecker slowly turns the knife over and then places it back into the holder on the counter.

"Like when I'm shooting someone, I can't miss." Lydecker then proceeds to pour himself coffee and then he gets a glass, fills it with water and then hands it to Max who looks at it quizzically.

"You don't need caffeine or sugar, you need sleep." Lydecker announces almost like an order he tried to modify so that it doesn't sound like an order.

"I'm fine." Max chirps.

"You just threw a knife at me." Lydecker flatly states, clearly that was not on.

"No, I threw a knife at the fridge. You chose to catch it." Max playfully answers.

Lydecker's response is to tilt his head upward as he watches Max. She clearly recognizes this as his _'his authority is now being challenged'_ look.

"Ok ok, if you say so." Max realizes that may have been a bit out of line but was that the knife throwing or her answer again? Max then realizes that her head is kind of spinning. She almost feels like she is in fast forward mode, like when you've had too much coffee and too much sugar… oh, that's what Lydecker is referring to…

Max downs the glass of water and then goes to sit down on the couch. "I really don't feel like sleeping right now."

"You have to rest and give your mind a chance to process what it has just been through." Lydecker moves a chair closer. "I'll sit with you."

Max then lies down on her side. She closes her eyes for about two seconds and then she opens her eyes again and blinks. She closes her eyes again and then opens them again. It's like there's flashing when she closes her eyes. She then rolls onto her back and looks up at the ceiling as she continues to blink. She didn't even realize this until she closed her eyes.

Lydecker reaches out and places his hand on her forehead, almost like he is feeling her temperature but then he doesn't take his hand away.

"It's like flashing." Max frowns as she tries to explain. "When I close my eyes."

"Hm." Lydecker responds like he knows what she means.

A moment later Max looks over to Lydecker. "Is that what you feel like?" Max remembers him telling her that his mind doesn't slow down and that's why he doesn't sleep much.

"Not flashing no. But when I close my eyes I can hear everything. My mind is thinking about everything that has to be done." Lydecker sighs. "When I close my eyes, it's almost like I can still see everything. Sometimes I wake up and I feel like I haven't even closed my eyes."

There's a moment of silence and then Max moves her head almost like she is trying to snuggle closer to Lydecker's touch. He then softly starts stroking her forehead.

"Do you regret doing it?" Max asks as she is glancing at him next to her. If Lydecker knew that this is what he was going to end up like, would he still have volunteered?

"No." The answer comes quickly and readily. He didn't even need to think about it…almost like it's a pre-programmed response.

"I need to however stay away from combat situations or at least not take a hit to the head." Lydecker says it slightly under his breath. He remembers at that genetics conference when he rung the fire alarm and one of the gun men struck him on the side of the face. That wasn't too bad, but his head hurt like hell. But then later on when he got up with his gun and was about to take control of the situation, he was struck over the head from behind. It wasn't even that hard a hit but he went down and his mind was hanging around in limbo for a few minutes after that. As he was lying on the floor, he was waiting for the shot to come, he knew that he was going to be shot but the bullet never came. By the time his mind had recovered, all the action was over. That headache from hell stayed with him for a week after that but his ego was hurt far more than his head. He is supposed to be a soldier and a slight hit over the head almost put him down. It was embarrassing.

And then of course when his head was struck by whatever it was in that explosion… he definitely knew that he was still alive because the pain told him so.

Max squeezes her eyes as she tries to keep them closed again but then opens them again. "How long is this going to go on for?"

"Could be hours, your brain has been over-stimulated. It is in shock." Lydecker sighs, he really doesn't want Max to go through this but he is however very pleased with the results with…. He stops himself.

Lydecker then gets up and moves the chair to the side of the couch at the top of Max's head. She watches him and she catches how he cringes as he sits down again. He's still in pain. Max then continues to blink until she feels Lydecker's hands as he feels around with his fingers and then places them on certain pressure points on her temples. He then gently presses down and releases.

This is usually done with medical electrodes transferring ionic current energy into certain brain muscles. In short, it just controls the blood flow which can be done by pushing down in certain areas.

"That better?" It's not so much a question as it is a statement.

Max closes her eyes and immediately realizes the difference. "Yes." She opens her eyes again and then closes them again. "Much." Who knew that this whole pressure point crap actually worked?

"So, what do you want for Christmas?" Max suddenly blurts out the words before she could think about it. Her mind is like running away from itself.

"Nothing." After a short pause Lydecker answers. "I already have everything I want." Lydecker leans forward and places a kiss on Max's head. Sure he was working towards the goal of a small group of perfect soldiers but his main goal through all the years at Manticore was to have Max by his side and here she is.

Max catches the hint and know that he is referring to her. He has his family.

She remembers when she and Lydecker was talking that day when they had him tied to a chair and blindfolded. He asked her about the seizures and said that they now have treatments for it. She sarcastically asked if Manticore makes house calls or if she should go in for that.

" _Would it be all that bad?"_ She recalls how Lydecker responded to her. He said it in a way that implied that there was nothing to be worried about. Like everything was going to be good if she returns to Manticore. Well now that Max knows what Lydecker's intentions was, she can understand what was going through his mind but she didn't know that.

She thinks about it for a while. "I'm happy about that too." Surely Lydecker will catch what she is talking about, that she has family, a _parent,_ a _father_.

"But I would like to have brand new oil for my bike though.."

"There's plenty of oil down in the basement." Lydecker answers.

"What is with the X5695-1?" Max suddenly jumps to another subject altogether out of nowhere.

"X5695-1." Lydecker repeats the number like he has just been asked what his designation is.

His eyes drift off into a distance as he thinks about the things that happened in the past. "It's tattooed on the back of my shoulder." He takes a deep breath. "It's from before Manticore."

Keeping her eyes closed, Max decides to remain silent as Lydecker speaks. The flashing is now gone but she has a slight burning behind her eyes.

"It was part of the 'Charlie-Echo program'. You get marked as a government asset." Lydecker turns his eyes back to Max and watches her. "Just like your barcode." He adds with a whisper.

There's a short silence in the room.

"So, is Manticore looking for you too?" Max carefully asks. If Lydecker is a 'government asset' just her, and she was hunted by them to recover their property, does that mean that they are looking for him too? "Hunting you down I mean."

"Maybe, maybe not." Lydecker answers.

"Do they think you are dead?" Max asks.

"There's some that think that and then there's others who would want that. There's those who wants to find me and there's those who doesn't want me to be found." Lydecker's tone turns slightly dark. "White has no idea what is really going on." He adds as an afterthought. "But it would also seem that he knows something that I don't."

When White had captured him, he was asking about Max. He was asking what the purpose was of Max's genetic setup that she has no junk DNA. But he himself didn't even know about it and he is the only who _tampered_ with Max's setup in the first place. There was someone else who was doing something very specific and it wasn't him.

TBC...

* * *

It's all over Season 1 that Lydecker did not like Renfro.

Lydecker was hit over the head in Season 1 ep 6 'Progidy'. I looked at that scene and thought to myself that was bad script writing, he was barely touched and he fell right over and was lying of the floor. So this is how I explain that.

Lydecker asked Max if it would be all that bad to return to Manticore in Season 1 ep 7 'Cold comfort'.

Thanks for reading:)


	21. Chapter 21 DNA

"Got the location." Zack points out to a place on the map. It's an hour away and it's the only place that has buildings, so this has got to be the place where Lydecker is.

Logan pulls up a satellite image and it reveals a building with about 5 floors. "It looks like it has been abandoned for quite some time."

"Has Lydecker written all over it." Zack notes. "Let's go."

"Wait."

As Zack is about to go get the guns he is hiding away on the roof, Brin stops him in his tracks.

"Have you really become that naive? Do you really think that it is that easy to find Lydecker?" Brin's tone has a hint of criticism to it. "This is the man who taught us how to escape and evade and it is because of his training back at Manticore that we weren't captured for over 10 years. Do we really think that it'll be that easy to find him?"

"He is the man that taught you how to cover up your tracks." Logan notes after thinking about what Brin is saying.

Zack was about to say something when he remains silent and thinks about it. He was just about to say that Lydecker was concerned about Max that day when she was having that bad seizure and he would not have bothered to cover up his tracks, he just wanted to get here as soon as possible. So they can work on an hour…but if that is so, if Lydecker does care for Max like that, then this entire witch hunt is a sham. But then again on the other hand, what if Lydecker was just concerned about losing the one soldier that he has gotten on his side? The one soldier he had managed to recover and gain her trust?

A knock on the door draws their attention and they all almost jump around to find Tinga standing in the doorway of Logan's office.

"What's going on?" Tinga asks as she can see that something is going down here. "Never mind that." Before she gets an answer, Tinga dismisses the question and then steps into the office.

Everyone is intently looking at Tinga as she takes out a glass vial, a lab vial, and holds it up.

"What's that?" Logan asks.

"Is that hair?" Zack's questions as he leans a bit closer to see.

Tinga then takes out another vial.

"Lydecker's hair." Tinga declares as she puts the vial down on the desk. When they were moving Lydecker from White's base to that abandoned building, he was unconscious and who is going to know if he missed a hair strand or two?

"Max's hair." Tinga declares as she puts the other vial on the desk also. She got that from Max's hair brush.

"The DNA results." Tinga declares with emphasis as she takes out a paper and drops it in between the two vials with hair.

Between Logan and Zack they try to see who can grab it first but as Logan is the one sitting at the desk, he beats the X5 to it.

Logan looks up from the paper. "It's not a match."

An eerie cold feeling drops over the room.

 _He has been lying..._

* * *

Max is cruising through the winding roads as she is heading back. Lydecker had convinced her to go and face everyone because _'the sooner you face it, the sooner it'll be sorted'._

She notes to herself that it is far more fun going down this road on her bike. Currently she is stuck with the car that she jacked and it is her only form of transportation. She'll dump the car just outside of the city limits when she gets there.

Max thinks back to when she woke up. Well when she was woken up by that dream she's had quite a few times now. The first time it happened she wasn't sure if it was an illusion or a dream or what. But she has been dreaming about it ever since every once in a while.

It's about that night when she got shot in the woods outside of Manticore. She was fighting an X7 and she won. She then returned to the van with everyone else. Everything was good, they were free and they were celebrating but then there was blood and then the next moment she was standing in front of the x7 again with a gun pointed to her and then she started falling over backwards.

But this time the dream felt different, it was like her senses has been heightened. She wonders if the visual components she was watching had anything to do with it.

She remembers when she was shot – she didn't even know that she was shot. But she remembers having this dream for that fleeting moment. A dream that they got out safely after bombing the DNA lab and they were at her favorite hang out with all her friends, Sketchy, OC, the others from Jam Pony, with Syl, Krit, Zack, Logan, playing pool, having drinks, making friends. They were celebrating that they no longer had to run, Manticore was gone for good. There was no need to split up and keep moving in enemy territory no more. They could just live, they were free. Zack was smiling and not so on edge, OC and Sketchy were bonding with her siblings. Everything was perfect.

But there is one part of that dream that has been stuck in her mind… Lydecker was there too. This was after she was disgusted with him about the whole _keeping a part of his wife alive in her._ It was long before she even knew that she would one day be on good terms with him like they currently are. She remembers in her dream him being there, in her hang out, with her friends, in her safe place. She called him her friend, in front of Zack and everything was good. She remembers smiling, she remembers Lydecker smiling, she was happy that he was there, he was happy to be there. She asked the bartender for another glass of water for him, almost like she was helping him stay away from alcohol. _Just like when she emptied out his bottles of alcohol into the drain…_

Clearly, somewhere in her subconscious she had thought of Lydecker as something else other than an enemy. And apparently she wanted it to be true of all of them, Zack, Syl, Krit and Logan.

Even though this was the man that they ran from, that she ran from. Ran away from Manticore and then ran away from being captured for years to follow…why would her subconscious place him there, in her safe place, closer to her in such a personal way…why would she think so of him?

She remembers that day when Logan told her about Lydecker's car that has been pulled out of a river.

" _He's dead?"_ She asked with a hint of loss in her tone. She felt like she had lost something.

" _They never found a body. The police say no one could've survived the crash." Logan answered._

 _Max rolled her eyes. "They don't know Lydecker."_ It was almost like she trusted him to be alive still. For some reason she was hoping that he was still alive.

" _You sound like you're almost hopefully."_ Logan clearly caught it.

" _Yeah well, you spend 10 years of your life running from someone, you kinda miss not having them around."_ Max used that as an excuse but it wasn't that. It was after finding out about Lydecker _'keeping a part of his wife alive in her'_ , that for some reason made her feel like she was important to him, 'special' to him, and that made her feel like she had a special connection with him…in a family-kinda way.

" _At least you still have White." Logan sarcastically commented._

" _Good old Ames. Somehow it's not the same with him."_ Of course it's not the same with White. No matter what had happened at Manticore. No matter what Lydecker had done to them as kids, she had to admit that Lydecker truly did care for them in some twisted way or another. He called them his kids, in front of everyone. Everybody knew that they were his _kids_ and they all knew that he was _touchy_ about them. He cared, White didn't.

And then later when she found the burial site, - it was the same as the pictures that they found in the wreck of Lydecker's car.

" _You don't think that he's behind all this?"_ Before Max realized, the words was said with clear disappointed attached to them. She felt such disappointment at the thought of Lydecker being involved.

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she had somehow grown attached to him…

Max sighs as she turns her thoughts back to Zack, Logan, Brin and Tinga. Now to go face them.

Max wonders since when did she ever answer to anyone? She has always done what she liked, especially when it came to Zack. She always stood him up and kept on doing what she wanted, where she wanted and with whom she wanted. Then why is she so on edge about this?

Probably because it has to do with Lydecker.

The one person on this planet that haunts their dreams. The one person on this planet that they hate with a passion and probably want to kill. The one person on this planet that made their lives hell and the person that has been hunting them down to put them back into a cage for over 10 years. The person who is indeed shady and definitely dangerous. The person who has a twisted sense of _survival_ and lacks compassion. The person who takes names, shoots first and does not even care to ask questions.

But not with her.

It's not like that with her.

But that's because she is family.

And she doesn't expect them to understand.

The only challenge is going to be to get them off her back about it…

* * *

"He probably took a detour somewhere." Tinga adds as she is standing with the others around the map.

"There's nothing out in this area." Logan points out as he has been going over satellite images.

"For all that we know he is right around the corner. He is sly like that." Brin notes as she is thinking to herself that Lydecker can just about be anywhere. She has absolutely no hope of them finding him but she doesn't even try to convince the others of it. They don't know him like she does.

The next moment their hearts all take a leap.

"I come bearing gifts." Max's chirpy voice rings out from the front door. "Well just pizza actually."

Max had decided to announce her arrival to whoever is in Logan's penthouse. Luckily it's only Logan but she knows better. That's why she has brought three pizzas with.

The four of them straighten up from leaning over the table with the map and they glance at each other. Clearly there is nothing to worry about as Max is back and she sounds like herself. Only thing now is…do they pretend like nothing is going on?

Logan quickly removes the map from the table.

Okay, so they are pretending…

"Max, where have you been?" Zack is on Max as soon as she gets into the living room with the boxes of pizza in hand.

Okay, they are not pretending…

"I have been out playing tennis." Max sarcastically throws back as she sticks the pizzas into Logan's hands and then enters the kitchen.

Okay, so they are pretending…

"Max, I am being serious." Zack's tone has already given that away.

"Zack, what difference does it make where I have been. I'm here now." Max gives him attitude as she brings out sauces for the pizzas. Isn't it obvious to them that she has been hanging around Lydecker? Are they thick or are they looking for a fight?

"Max." Before anyone else can say something, Brin's quiet voice draws their attention.

"We need to talk." Brin's voice is calm and soft but serious.

Okay, no more pretending…

Max turns to look at Brin. She has a friendly yet concerned expression. That together with her soft voice, Max is actually willing to talk. Zack is the one that is going to turn it into a fight, _he always turns it into a fight._

Brin then proceeds to hold out a paper to her.

"What's that?" Max questions as she carefully takes the paper from Brin.

Everyone in the room clearly catches that Brin cares very much for Max and she knows that this will hurt her. But she must know the truth.

Max looks at the paper and frowns.

"DNA results." Brin has taken the lead in this conversation now. It's like she is the only one now equipped to deal with this.

Before Max can ask whose DNA results…

"Yours and Lydecker's." Brin's voice still calm and soft.

Max has already seen that the DNA's are not a match, so she doesn't need to look at the paper again. Instead, she pulls a puzzled expression as she watches them.

"You thought that we were actually related?" Max's tone has a slight dose of disbelief to it.

Those words catches them all off guard.

Wait…

What?

Huh?

They are all confused for a moment until the silence is suddenly broken.

"Max!" The cheerful voice of Tinga's son breaks the tension.

"Chase!" Max answers cheerfully also as she bends down and catches the boy who has run up to her. Besides Tinga and her husband, she is the only one who he does it with. Brin is far too silent and Zack and kids is a no-no.

"Hey everyone." Charlie walks in a moment later.

 _No one ever knocks…_

Everyone is eating their pizza as they are wracking their brains trying to wrap it around the unexpected turn of events. But with Charlie and Chase there, they are back to pretending that nothing is going on.

"Where are you going?" Logan asks as Max had pulled her jacket on.

"I better get back to work. Normal is probably having a baby by now. See you all later." With that Max disappears from sight before anyone else can say something.

Zack has an urge to jump up and run after Max but he currently has no game plan, so he remains seated across from Charlie. The two of them still has not exactly warmed up to each other but they can pretend that's fine also.

As Max closes Logan's door behind her, she feels like running and she physically has to restrain herself from breaking out into a sprint.

 _Where the heck did they get DNA samples from? Dammit! Can they not just mind their own damn business? Why can't they just accept the situation with Lydecker the way it is? Why do they have to scratch?_

Panic starts rising in Max. They are getting closer to the truth and the truth about how she is connected to Lydecker can never see the light of day.

If they are being this unaccepting of Lydecker at this moment, wait until they know the truth. The situation can only go to hell from here on out but she's not planning on letting that happen. So she is going to come up with a game plan and a good one at that. And that means that Lydecker and herself better get their stories straight.

* * *

After swinging by Jam Pony and pulling Normal her soft, sweet, completely innocent face, she then went past her apartment to pick up some stuff and her bike.

"What's there to smile about?" Max tone is full on disbelief as she looks at Lydecker.

After telling him the whole story about how Logan, Zack, Tinga and Brin ganged up on her with a paper with DNA results, their DNA, and how they do not match…Lydecker's response was to have a slight smile on his face.

"There's plenty to smile about." Lydecker's tone seems to say that he is impressed and that he was expecting it. "Just like I've taught them."

Max silently watches him. The whole 'being raised as soldiers at Manticore' is a sensitive issue and it's best to stray away from it but clearly Lydecker isn't planning on it as he keeps on bringing it up.

"Never take any…" Lydecker's tone changes to commander mode but then before he can continue, Max cuts him off.

"Never take anything at face value. Always look underneath the underneath." Max parrots out the words that Lydecker taught them as kids when they were being taught about evaluating possible situations and circumstances.

"They are doing exactly what they were taught to do." Instead of being alarmed like Max about them getting hot on the trail of truth, Lydecker sounds happily impressed.

"Never mind." Max rolls her eyes, clearly she's not happy about his response.

As Max walks past Lydecker where he is leaning against the kitchen counter, Lydecker takes hold of her arm and then pulls her back and positions her in front of him, he then crosses his arms again.

"Max, they are not doing this to hurt you. They are doing this because they care about you." Lydecker's tone changes to a soft, caring one.

Max pulls a face that says, _I know but it's annoying._

"If some shady guy came along and claimed to be your father, I'd be very unhappy if they didn't get involved." His tone clearly tells that he'd be upset if such a thing were to happen.

There's a pause of silence.

"And because of our history and who they know me to be…" Lydecker's tone changes slightly to a dark one with those words.

"I'm glad that they are getting involved." His tone then suddenly changes to a relieved tone.

"What if I had some dark intentions? - What they certainly believe that I do." He knows they don't trust him. "What if they didn't get involved and you were actually in danger?" Lydecker gives a slight pause. "They care for you Max, that's why they can't leave it alone." His tone is still soft.

"They are not the enemy." Lydecker adds.

"I know." Max's tone is soft and understanding as she reaches out and places her arms around Lydecker in a hug. "But they think that you are the enemy." She places her head on Lydecker's shoulder.

"And I don't blame them for that." Lydecker understands why they are hostile towards him.

Max keeps her arms in a loose hug as she keeps his broken rib in mind. She doesn't even know on which side it is. But Lydecker on the other hand either doesn't feel any pain or he doesn't care about the pain as he tightens his grip on Max as he pulls her into a firm hug. He then brings up his one hand and strokes the back of her head in a comforting manner.

"But…" Lydecker's tone turns serious. "They can never know the truth." He whispers as if someone might hear it.

"O heck no, and they sure as hell ain't gonna hear it from me." Max agrees, they can never find out about what is really going on. If they knew about what connects her to Lydecker and his wife, they will do everything to keep them apart because that is creepy and it does make Lydecker a psycho who got into gene-splicing.

Max pulls out of the hug. "That's why we need to come up with a story and a good one at that."

"Hm." Lydecker gives a slight snort. "It doesn't matter how good the story is, they will never be comfortable with it."

That's true, that's very true…

* * *

Zack, Brin and Tinga are standing around Logan's computer as he pulls up the files he found of Lydecker's deceased wife.

When they first concluded that Lydecker is Max's father, they wondered if Max knew. Now that they have evidence that Lydecker is not her father, it appears that Max is completely aware that they are not related.

" _You thought that we were actually related?"_

Zack recalls Max's words. Now if that is so, then why was Lydecker calling Max his daughter right in front of him and Max?

Is both Lydecker and Max lying to them?

So here they are trying to figure out what is going on as they are sort of back to square one.

"There is a definite resemblance." Tinga notes as they are studying the photo of Lydecker's deceased wife.

"The face, the skin tone, the eyes, even the hair." Tinga speaks about the similarities between the photo of Lydecker's wife and Max.

"If Max is her daughter, then we all know what that means right?" Zack's tone is back to default accusation mode.

"It would mean that Lydecker used his own wife for experimentation to breed a genetically engineered soldier." Brin softly speaks. She was not ignorant of the things that happened when she was back at Manticore. She knows what happened in those labs.

"That is sick." Tinga's tone is laced with disgust.

Logan is not sure what to think of the situation. Sure Lydecker is dangerous but he cannot possible think such a thing of him. He cannot think that Lydecker would do such a thing to his own wife. He does seemed to have loved her very much.

That night when they were in that warehouse getting ready to take down the DNA lab. They were both sitting in the van…

" _You must be pumped about tonight…this is what they were made to do right…" Logan stated to Lydecker._

" _It's very gratifying watching kids realize their purpose in life." Lydecker answered._

" _Do you have any idea how twisted that is?"_ Logan got a look at how twisted Lydecker's mind was that night.

" _How about you? Why are you here? It's not your fight." Lydecker suddenly turned the tables. "But neither was the attack on the genetics conference…I remember you."_

" _It's all about her…you're in love with her."_

 _Logan froze, that was not exactly the person he wanted to confess his deepest secrets to._

" _May I have the screw driver, please." Logan tried to change the subject but then a moment later, Lydecker leaned forward and gave him a gentle push on his shoulder._

" _I understand."_

There was something in his voice that told him that Lydecker knows what you are willing to do for the woman that you love.

…but Logan can't help but wonder…

…when his wife died, it was just around the time when he became the director of Manticore… _  
_

And no person who goes to oversee a project like that can be sane in their minds.

TBC...

* * *

Max got shot in Season 1 ep 21.

Max had the dream about having Lydecker as a friend in her hangout drinking water also in Season 1 ep 21.

They discover Lydecker's car pulled out of the river and thought he was dead in Season 2 ep 9 'Medium is the message'.

Logan and Lydecker was talking in the van in season 1 ep 21 also.

Thanks for reading:) Reviews are welcome...


	22. Chapter 22 Memories

"Hey boo." OC hangs her head around the lockers. "Normal's looking for ya." OC then points over her shoulder to the front counter.

"…" Just as Max is about to ask Normal what he wants, she stops in her tracks.

"He's looking for you." Normal points over to Logan and then he grabs a package and starts yelling at someone.

"Thought I'd take you to lunch."

"Why did you not correct me?" Logan asks as he and Max is seated in a nice restaurant.

"About what?" Max inquires as she takes a sip of wine. This really is scoring Logan some points, taking her out to a fancy restaurant in the middle of the day. She can get use to this.

"That Lydecker isn't your father." Logan clearly got that impression from her that day when he had that conversation with her in her apartment, with the red balloons sitting on the table in the living room.

"He is my father." Max slightly shrugs her shoulders as she pulls a dismissive expression, like there is nothing wrong with it.

"Max, your DNA's don't match." Logan has decided to speak with Max very straight forwardly and get everything out in the open.

"I knew that." Max pulls Logan a ' _no duh'_ face. "But it doesn't matter, he is like my dad." She has decided that if there is going to be anyone she is going to be open and honest with, it's going to be Logan.

Logan pauses as he tries to process the feeling he gets as Max refers to Lydecker as her _dad._ He gives a slight nod and then takes a sip of his wine.

"You mean like he would be the 'dad' of all of you…kids?" Logan carefully inquires. Is Max referring to the whole thing that Lydecker thinks of them and refers to them as his 'kids'?

"No." There's a very slight tinge of jealousy in Max's tone. "I'm special." Max looks up at Logan and pulls him an innocent face and then smiles.

They both sit back as the food arrives and the waiter places their plates down in front of them. Max jumps in right away and starts eating.

"Is that because you are related to his wife?" Logan again carefully pushes the subject. He doesn't want to push Max away but he doesn't want to left out either.

"Yip." Max affirms happily as she sticks another fork of food into her mouth.

Logan looks at his food for a moment and then takes a bite. When he is done chewing, Logan wonders if he should put the knife and fork down and treat this as a serious subject or if he should take another bite as if it's not such a big deal.

Max picks this up but she is going to wait for Logan to lead the conversation.

"You do realize what that could mean, right?" Logan tries to introduce the subject with words that doesn't out right accuse anyone.

"What?" Max looks at Logan again.

Logan takes a glance over to another table as he tries to find the right words. "It means…" Logan stops and then changes strategies. "Max, how do you then end up a genetically engineered soldier as a kid?" He decided to rather let Max come to the answer herself.

"It's a loooong story." Max kind of lifts her eye brows as she answers and then she continues eating. She's not going to tell Logan the complete truth.

"Max." Logan puts his cutlery down to draw her attention. "Does it mean that Lydecker used his own wife for experimentation to breed a genetically engineered soldier?" Logan almost whispers. He doesn't really want to say it out loud to Max but he has to make sure that she understands what the possibilities of it may be.

"What? No!" Max exclaims as she pulls a disgusted face. "He would never do such a thing. Lydecker may be guilty of a lot of things but he would never do that. And you better make sure that he never hears you say such a thing because he will stab you for that."

"I don't want to fight, Max." Logan realizes that Max is very touchy about the subject. "I'm just trying to figure out how we get from 'being a family' to being at Manticore."

Max suddenly drops her hands to the table as she pins Logan with a glare. Not a death glare but more of a suspicious one. "Did Zack put you up to this? Is he lurking somewhere outside?"

"No Zack didn't put me up to this. I want to know what is going on because I care for you Max…I…" Logan stops himself just in time.

Max looks at Logan as he has turns his gaze to his plate. He almost said, _I love you…_

"I love you too." Max mentions in a care-free manner. "That's why I'm being honest with you."

Logan looks up at Max and she pulls him a smile before she continues eating. His heart has skipped a beat and he trying to recover from it. Did Max just say that she loves him? The only time when she ever came close to it was that night she got shot.

" _Logan, I should've said something a long time ago…Logan…"_

"Logan." Max's voice pulls him out of his thoughts.

"It's a long story, okay, maybe it's not a long story but it is a difficult one to explain. Has Lydecker done everything right? No. Has he done everything wrong? Just about." Max snorts at the situation.

A moment later Max sighs as she brings her hand up and rubs her forehead.

"He's just trying to keep his family together."

"So he sees you as his daughter." Logan softly confirms.

He catches how Max smiles at his statement.

"And he treats me like it too. He did ever since Manticore." Max softly speaks as she thinks back to when she was lying in the infirmary, again with a seizure. Lydecker pulled a blanket over her and then took a seat next to her bed and stayed there the whole night, just watching her in silence. Nobody else was ever treated like that and she never mentioned it to the others either.

But then Max's memories of Manticore also reminds her of the bad things that was done to her too. She then looks up at Logan.  
"In a very subtle way of course."

"You trust him?" It seems like it but Logan wants to know exactly what it is that Max is thinking about it.

There's a pause as Max is thinking about the question. Logan watches her closely.

Her memories trails back to when she ran into Lydecker at that genetics conference…

" _Is this your area of specialty? Genetics?" She asked him to start a conversation._

" _I've done some work in the field…with children. Gifted children." He answered like he was proud of it._

" _How gratifying." Max commented. Usually they are referred to as freaks._

" _I guide them as best I can. Mostly I provide a framework in which they can flourish." Lydecker was talking as if he was doing what was best for them._

" _You know…it's always the highly intelligent ones that lacks discipline…" For a moment it almost felt like he knew who he was talking to._

" _Maybe they figured they are smart enough to think for themselves." Max answered back like she was answering as to why they ran away._

" _Nah, they're still children. They don't always act in their own best interest." Lydecker truly seems to have been thinking that he is doing what is best for them._

 _Max recalls as they broke out through the windows the night they escaped. Lydecker thinks that they should've stayed in that place for their own best interest._

There is something wrong with the way he thinks about some things.

"I trust him completely to do whatever is best for me." Max then takes a deep breath as she slightly ducks her head. "But I do not always trust his judgement."

"I don't doubt that he loves me." Max then continues to stick another fork of food into her mouth.

Logan takes in what Max is saying…Lydecker, love…Lydecker, love….Logan is having a hard time mentioning Lydecker and love together in one sentence. Maybe Lydecker and obsession, but not really Lydecker and love. He is having an even harder time trying to imagine Lydecker expressing any kind of love. Maybe that was in another life…

"He would do anything for me." Max says as she is still chewing her food. "And that is actually the scary part." She continues to scratch around her plate and does not make eye contact with Logan. "He doesn't know where to draw the line. He seems to only be satisfied after everyone is either in line or dead."

She then looks to Logan as she takes a sip of wine. "You know those guys who groped me when I had that seizure? He went and shot them." Max's tone has a hint of outrage in it. "When I confronted him about it, he said that they 'touched his _little girl'_. As if it was a capital offense and it warranted execution."

Max then gestures with her hand. "You do not mess with his family." She then continues to eat again. "That report that said that the killer who murdered his wife was never found…I'm sure it is because he made the body or bodies disappear. There is no way he would've accepted that the killer was never found and then moved on with his life. He is not like that, he holds a grudge until he pays it in full."

Logan keeps his attention on Max as she shares with him. He remembers when he met with Lydecker that day at that warehouse and then it turned out that Lydecker was baiting Manticore. After he killed Jim and seemed rather satisfied with it, he turned to him.

 _"So you want to know about Manticore?"_ Lydecker's tone clearly told that the time for payback has arrived.

At least they can rest assured that Max isn't being naïve, she clearly knows what Lydecker is capable of.

"His mind is so messed up Logan. Whatever happened to him before he even got involved with Manticore...it had messed him up." Max thinks about the things that she found out about Lydecker after he was kidnapped by White. "They did something to him."

"Who?" Logan inquires as the conversation takes a turn.

"Don't know." Max lifts her shoulders.

"Did what to him?" Logan asks some more as he is curious.

"Did something to his mind. He still thinks that he is a soldier surviving something." There's a pause. "In his mind he still thinks he's fighting a war." Max's voice has turned to care free tone. She's already use to Lydecker being like that.

Logan stays silent as he thinks about what that could mean.

"And just like the soldiers from Manticore, he has an _objective_." Max's tone takes a dip. Like it's a secret that she is sharing with him. "And come hell or high water, he is going to carry out that objective even if it kills him." The end of the sentence ends with a tone of annoyance.

Lydecker has been on the Manticore case since he has left them, and it almost got him killed when White captured him, and Lydecker is still intent on going after Manticore and what is really going on.

"I have a feeling that White is going to turn up dead one of these days." Max knows that Lydecker is out for blood and White is at the top of his list.

"Are you going to eat that roll?" Max points to Logan's plate that has barely been touched.

Logan pushes his plate closer and Max stabs her fork into the roll and retrieves it to her plate.

"You care for him, don't you?" Logan has come to this conclusion.

"I do, very much and…" Max tips her head to the side. "…if you want me to be a part of your life, you better make peace with it because you're getting him too." Max just puts it out there that she is not going to choose sides.

"I already got him. I got him the night you were shot." Logan refers to when after Max was shot, that Lydecker was hanging around to check up on him. Since then they kind of connected. Hence the phone calls that followed for weeks after until he disappeared. Well until he started playing dead.

Logan then picks up his knife and fork and happily starts eating. He is at rest about the situation now. "I'm glad we talked."

"Me too." Max smiles. Her spirits are lifted now, at least she doesn't have to look over her shoulder for Logan. He's got her back.

"Can you perhaps convince everybody else to lay off on the _investigation_?" Max asks as she has Zack, Tinga and Brin in mind.

"I'll try but you know Zack, if there is no fire and no smoke, he will make the smoke if he has to." Logan answers knowing that Max knows exactly what Zack it like.

 _He doesn't have to make any smoke_. Max thinks to herself. Not with Lydecker.

Her mind is still thinking about when they were at that genetics conference.

" _He's a good little soldier." Lydecker commented as Kendra took the boy to get something to drink._

" _He's a scared kid." Max didn't like his comment._

" _Fear accomplishes nothing. I hope he learns that now if he hasn't already." Lydecker spoke as if a kid wasn't allowed to be just that, a kid._

" _Is that what you teach those kids of yours? To shake it off and move on like nothing happened?" Max was pushing to see how his mind really works. And that's exactly what she got as he then only proceeded after that to give her his whole 'survival of the fittest' speech._

Max thinks about it for a moment…

That is exactly how Lydecker acts. After everything that has happened…he just shakes it off and moves on like nothing happened.

* * *

Max is sitting on one of the bar stools in the kitchen with her legs folded as she is eating. She glances into the hallway as she takes a sip of coffee. There's a thunder storm outside, the rain is pouring and there's an occasional rumbling of thunder.

When she came into the house she found Lydecker on his bed, he was thrashing around and jerking and mumbling something in his sleep. Clearly he was having a nightmare. She stayed standing in the doorway calling his name. She wasn't going to go anywhere near him, just now he pulls out a knife and stabs her. After the third attempt of yelling his name, he jerked awake.

The look he gave her had some distress in it. She asked if he was ok and he just put his hand on his forehead and then wiped it down his eyes. Eventually he answered with a gruff ' _I'm fine'._ Max decided to leave him alone after that.

Lydecker comes walking into the kitchen and goes straight for the kettle and finds a cup already put out for him and the water boiled.

Max watches him. He is dressed but he looks like he just got out of bed. Like he just put some clothes on and didn't bother to comb his hair. After thinking about it for a moment, Max realizes that is how he always looks like. She can remember only once back at Manticore when she was a kid that his hair looked like it was combed. But after that his hair always looked like he didn't own a comb.

…guess you don't comb your hair on the battlefield in the middle of a war either.

Watching Lydecker pouring his coffee and then silently leave the kitchen, Max wonders if she should ask if he is ok. He doesn't seem to like being asked that sometimes and he treats it like it's some foreign tradition or something, so she decides to remain silent.

Putting his cup down, Lydecker starts typing away on his computer right away almost like it will take the feelings that is storming around in his head and heart. It's not a dream that is haunting him, it's the memories. Yes he can make himself forget somethings, just like he taught his _kids_. But this memory finds a way to creep up on him every now and then. Maybe it's because it lies so dangerously close to his heart.

The memory of getting off the plane. He is dressed in his commander outfit. He then makes his way to the car that transports him to the main building. He vividly remembers walking through those halls as he has just accomplished a top secret mission and is heading to the board room to finish the briefing about the mission. He remembers like it was just yesterday, the cold chill that fell on him when he entered the board room and found not only his CO but also a chaplain together with some other people he didn't know. He then remembers how his world started crumbling around him as he was told about his wife's murder. The feeling of utter loss, of searing pain, or a gaping hole that was torn into his heart and the feeling of absolute helplessness. He couldn't so anything.

He has had that dream for over 20 years since his wife's death but it was about two years ago when the dream, the memories started to blend…

Like the dream he just had…he walks into the board room, finds his CO and the chaplain, his world crumbles all over again but then the next moment he is in a forest, the woods. He is making his way through the trees searching for something, and then…he finds Cale…Cale is holding Max.

Max is dead.

" _She's gone…"_ He hears his own voice.

And then whatever pieces of his heart he had somehow managed to put back together starts crumbling all over again…the waves of pain comes flooding back, all hope falls apart, the anger returns…someone is going to pay…someone is going to have to die for that.

Max is sitting down on the step in the living room as she is busy rummaging through her back pack. It's still dark outside and she's too lazy to get up and switch the light on. With the storm outside there's the occasional lightning flash that gives her an idea of where she is scratching in her bag.

She finds what she is looking for, pulls it out of her bag as she dumps it onto the couch. As she gets up and is turning around to go back to the kitchen…

"Max."

She lets out a shriek as she catches a fright and jumps. Lydecker is standing right behind her on the step.

"Why are you lurking around in the shadows like some assassin?" Max's tone is annoyed. Why does he have to sneak up on people like that? She doesn't like being snuck up on like that. 10 years of running and looking over your shoulder does that to you.

"Sorry, old habits die hard." Lydecker's tone is soft but filled with emotion.

Max places her hand over her heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack." She is just about scolding him.

She barely finishes her words when he reaches out and pulls her into a hug. He places a hand behind her head bringing her close. He then places a lingering kiss on her head and then a second one thereafter. Then he places her head in the crook of his neck, just underneath his jaw.

There's a short moment of silence. "I'm sorry." Lydecker takes a deep breath, a shaky one and Max picks up a tremor in it.

 _Is he crying?_

 _Or trying very hard to fight it…_

Max places her arms around Lydecker, returning the hug. She has a feeling that he is apologizing for something else.

Lydecker tightens the hug as he is holding onto Max with an iron grip. If she wanted out of this hug, there would be no way. But not that she's complaining, she loves his hugs, especially the possessive ones.

"It's okay." Max whispers as she moves her hand on his back to comfort. She decides instead of asking him if he is ok, she is going to tell him that it is ok.

His response is to give her another kiss on the top of her head and then to continue holding her.

Max thinks to herself that Lydecker may appear all cold and dangerous on the outside but if you get close enough, you find that he is actually just a damaged person on the inside.

* * *

Max almost tells Logan that she loves him with her dying breath in Season 1 ep 21 'Casserole'.

Lydecker finds Max dead in Logan's arms also in Season 1 ep 21 'Casserole'.

Max ran into Lydecker at the genetics conference in Season 1 ep 6 'Prodigy'.

It's all over Season 1 where Lydecker's hair never seems to be combed and always in a mess.

Thanks for reading:)

Reviews are welcome.


	23. Chapter 23 I'm Sorry

A few days later Max finds only Brin in Logan's penthouse.

"How about we go see a movie?" Max asks out of the blue.

"Um, sure." Brin hesitantly answers. She's not sure what she is agreeing to as she has never gone to see a movie at an actual movie house or cinema, whatever they call it. Sure she has seen movies on tv but she's never gone out for one. It has never been safe enough to be that care free but Max seems to know what she is doing.

After watching a movie, Max and Brin is sitting at a pizza place. Max didn't want to go to Crash where they usually hangout as she is currently trying to avoid running into Zack. She's not quite ready to talk to him yet.

"I like your hair down like that. It makes you look far more friendly." Max comments as she and Brin is eating away at a pizza they are sharing.

Brin smiles. "I have been told that."

"Though, your hair was neatly done." Max is referring to when Brin had her hair back in an absolute pristinely perfect braid. Max however would never put that much effort into getting her hair that perfect.

"I hated it." Brin's voice reveals her disgust with the braid as she pulls a face to accompany it. "Lydecker told me to wear my hair like that. My hair had to be out of my face. _Because it'll cause a hindrance in the middle of combat."_ Brin then quotes his exact words to her.

Max snorts. "He should dare tell me what I should do with my hair." Her tone says that he will have a fight on his hands but her voice trails off at the end. Maybe Brin doesn't really want to know how close they are.

"You'll probably get away with it." Brin states. Her tone telling that she knows that Max is special when it comes to Lydecker.

They make eye contact for a brief moment before Brin looks down and takes another piece of pizza. "You're ok with it?"

"The thing with Lydecker?" Max confirms that they are talking about the same thing and the glance that Brin gives her, confirms it.

"Yes and no." Max pauses as she thinks about the question some more. "I'm fine with the situation the way it is now, but I'm not ok with everything that he has done. There are some things that I'll probably never be able to forgive him for. And he knows that."

Brin slightly nods but keeps silent.

"You're afraid of him." Max states as a fact. She has noticed how tense Brin gets just when he is being mentioned. And she has noticed how Brin tries to keep her distance whenever he is around.

"I'm just waiting for the bullet that has my name on it." Brin answers truthfully. It's probably best that everybody starts speaking about the way they truly feel.

"What do you mean?" There's confusion in Max's tone. Lydecker has nothing against her that she knows of. He has nothing against any of his _kids_ that he wants to kill them. In fact as for as she knows, he tried to do everything to keep them alive.

"I betrayed him Max." The answer is soft and then Brin looks up at Max. "Nobody betrays Lydecker and lives."

Max then remembers about how Lydecker told her of how Renfro started giving orders behind his back. Is that what Brin is talking about?

"Brin he doesn't see it that way. He knows that you were only following orders." Max can tell her that because Lydecker told it to her.

"Sandoval was also only following orders and that got him killed." Brin answers back.

"That's different, Sandoval had free choice, you didn't. Lydecker knows that you were only doing what you were…" Max takes a shaky breath. " _…programmed_ to do."

"He speaks about it like Renfro took you away from him or something." Max takes a bite of her pizza as if it will make the awkwardness go away.

Brin looks at Max like this is news to her. She was sure that Lydecker was holding it against her and that she was next on the hit list. She remembers when Lydecker calmly interrogated her about what happened when they tried to move in and take Tinga's son and Max also.

When she entered Lydecker's office, he looked exhausted, tired and worn out. He wasn't his usual self. But there was a clear danger seething underneath the surface and it terrified Brin. She tried her best to keep the pose, stand stiff, look straight ahead while having no emotion in her eyes and no expression on her face. She wished with everything she had in her that her voice did not crack. But her mouth kept on going dry, so she kept on swallowing and she's sure that gave her away.

Lydecker was asking her to tell him again what happened in the SUV when Tinga supposedly escaped. She could see that Lydecker didn't believe a word that she was telling him. And then he leaned in close and then all her warning lights started flashing. And in the end he succeeded in scaring something out of her as she let Sandoval's name slip. Then she was terrified of what Lydecker was going to do, what he was going to do to her. But then he just told her that she has been of great help and then dismissed her.

He was being soft on her because she knows that he could've a lot more harsh with her. That's why she was sure that he was silently plotting what he was going to do to her.

"It was almost like he was protecting you from me." Brin remembers the tone Lydecker used when he reminded her about the deal that he made with Max.

" _I made a deal to secure Tinga in exchange for sparing her son's life. And you tried to capture the boy and X5 542 as well."_

"Well I guess I was conniving with Renfro behind his back. He did not like Renfro…" Brin adds with a tone that tells that that was a fight that you should not have gotten involved in.

"She was a bitch." Max outright declares with all of the hate that she had for that crazy woman. She can completely understand why Lydecker did not get along with her.

" _She's a real piece of work."_ Max remembers how Lydecker described her that night before they infiltrated Manticore.

After a few more bites of pizza, Max speaks. "I will tell him to keep his distance." Max can see that Brin is on edge about him even after she has tried to set her mind at ease that Lydecker is not out to get her.

"No." Brin hastily answers. "Rather…just don't mention me at all." Brin ducks her head so that her hair falls forward and hides her face.

For a moment Max realizes that she may not be afraid of Lydecker but everyone else still is. She remains silent as she watches Brin. A feeling of guilt seeps in as she feels like she is the guilty party here that has brought this man back into their lives. The man that they never wanted to see or hear of again. And here she is talking as if it's perfectly normal to hang out with him.

"It's just…" Brin pushes her hair behind her ear as she reaches out and takes hold of her glass. She then takes a deep breath as she is looking to the floor like she's not sure how to explain something.

"That day of the explosion, when Lydecker was lying on Logan's couch and his face bleeding…" Brin uses her hand to indicate the wound on his head. "Logan was the one who tried to clean the wound, _did a horrible job at it."_ Brin adds under her breath. "I ended up doing the stitches because…" Brin places her hands on her temples and massages them and then runs her fingers through her hair. Clearly this is something that is hard for her to talk about.

"…It's like there was something in me that had a duty to fulfil." Brin finishes. "My programming was to follow the orders of, and to protect the command. And that was Lydecker, and that day a part of me still felt that."

Max watches Brin as she speaks but she's not making eye contact.

"I'm afraid that if he were to talk to me, that the programming would still be there and I would just be a puppet again." Brin voices her fears concerning Lydecker as she is looking down at her pizza.

"I see." Max responds after a short silence.

"What's it like not being afraid of him?" Brin looks up and asks. Ever since they were kids, they were afraid of him. When they were on the run, they were terrified of him and what he would do to them when he finds them. And even though she was indoctrinated, there was a certain level of fear she still had for the man and now she is definitely back to almost terrified of him.

Max drops her eyes almost like she has been caught out. "I haven't been afraid of him for a long time now." She confesses. Sure in the beginning she was afraid of him and she definitely didn't want to get caught by him. But over time as she had run-ins and near-capture experiences with him, the fear kind of started fading away. And then it kind of started to feel to her like it was a cat and mouse game they were playing.

That day when she went to go get Jace. When Jace jumped onto the back of her bike and they sped off. She could've used the same route as what she came in with but instead she decided to head towards Lydecker, propel her bike into the air via a ramp and go right his Lydecker's head, just to stick it to him. And then to top it off, she blew him a kiss.

Jace still asked her what that was about and she nonchalantly answered that she is playing with him. That earned her a very strange look from Jace. Maybe that's where she realized that she wasn't that afraid of him anymore.

Max pulls a big smile as she lets out a short laugh as she thinks about it. She then shares the story with Brin.

"You did that?" Brin has a tone of disbelief. No one would dare do that with Lydecker.

Still smiling about it, Max replies. "We've been playing a kind of 'cat and mouse' game. I'm 20 points ahead."

But then Max remembers that's only the points that she like 'awarded' herself. What about all of the times that Lydecker sneaked up on her? Maybe she should check the score.

"I cannot possibly imagine what that can be like." Brin cannot imagine Lydecker going along with something like that.

"Yeah, who would've thought?" Max answers thoughtfully.

A moment of silence passes.

"Thanks." Max speaks up.

"For what?"

"For being so calm about the situation. Unlike Zack." Max mutters under her breath. There's no way she will ever have a conversation like this about Lydecker, like she just had with Brin.

"It's just difficult…to accept." Brin understands why Zack is suspicious about it. She doesn't trust the man all that much either.

"I know, and I don't expect you understand." Max gets it and she has made peace with it. She just doesn't want to fight about it all the time. "Thanks for at least not being hostile about it like our big brother."

She knows with Zack she is going to have a fight on her hands.

But what the two of them are not aware of is that Zack is on the other side of the partitioning, eavesdropping on their conversation.

He spotted them leaving Logan's place and he decided to follow them to see what they are up to. After lurking away in the shadows in the back of the cinema and painstakingly making it through an hour and half of a romantic comedy, needless to say he was already irritated by the time they got to the pizza place.

As he is listening to Max and Brin talk about Lydecker, he has the thoughts in his head from when he was recaptured. Well, not really captured as Zack gave himself up to keep Max safe. He was taken back to the one place on this planet he never what to visit ever again in his life, Manticore. And even worse, the one room he never wanted to see again, psy-ops. This man Max is so calmly talking about had hurt him, tortured him. He remembers the beatings, the interrogations, the pain and the hunger as he was barely given any food to break him down physically. Doesn't Max understand that this is the same person?

The next time Zack runs into Lydecker, he is going to push him over the edge so that Max can see exactly what kind of a man Lydecker really is.

That is the plan.

* * *

Max finds Lydecker down in the basement busy with something on a work bench. For a moment she hesitates to make her presence known as she wonders if he is going to pull another surprise one on her. Like with the stage 3 visual components. He may have been right but she didn't like the way he tried to goad her into using it.

But then a wicked smile crosses Max's face. She's sure that he hasn't noticed her there yet, so she can sneak up on him and…

"Bring your hand here." Lydecker suddenly speaks.

 _Maybe next time…_

Max steps closer and tries to peek over his shoulder to see what he is busy with.

"How did you even know that I was here?"

Without saying anything Lydecker reaches for his phone that is sitting on the workbench next to him and places it next to Max.

She looks down at the screen and realizes that it's cameras. Cameras that has every inch of the outside of the house covered. How could she miss it? How did she not notice any cameras? Maybe she has let her guard down and has become way too comfortable around him.

As Max's attention is on the cameras, Lydecker reaches out for her hand. He then puts something around her wrist, checking the size.

Is that a bracelet?

Lydecker then turns back to the workbench, picks up a tool and adjusts the size. He then turns back to Max and places it on her wrist.

Lifting her hand, Max inspects the thing that Lydecker has attached to her wrist. As she is studying it, Lydecker proceeds to put a similar one on her other wrist also.

Before Max can comment on it, Lydecker speaks.

"Negative." Lydecker points to her left wrist. "Positive." He then points to her right wrist.

Turning back to the works bench, Lydecker explains. "Between the two poles of magnets it will absorb low density electrical currents. Like for instance a tazer stick or a stun gun will have little effect on you."

Max pulls a face of being impressed as she thinks about the benefits of it but then she suddenly freezes. She knows that Lydecker is someone who will only put his seal of approval on it once it has been tested and proven. So how is Lydecker going to test that this actually works on her…? And sure as day she spots a tazer lying off to the side of the work bench. Maybe she should start backing away?

Lydecker then continues to collect all the loose pieces scattered around the work bench and puts it into a container.

"And how are you going to test it?" Max carefully toes the line.

"It's already been tested." Lydecker responds as he then puts the container away.

Looking to the tazer and thinking about it, Max comes to the conclusion. "You tested it on yourself?" It's more of a statement rather than an actual question.

"Yes." Lydecker nods in all seriousness as he turns to Max.

"Crazy." Max comments under her breath as she lifts her wrists and inspects the bracelets.

"Would you rather have me test it on you?" Lydecker asks with a tone of incredulity.

Max just throws him a look of ' _like you're going to do that'._

"I didn't think so." Lydecker states as he lifts his eye brows with emphasis and comes to stand in front of Max.

After realizing that he is standing in front of her watching her, Max suddenly drops her hands and pulls him an innocent face as she lifts her chin and returns the look. There's a moment that the two of them looks at each other when Max suddenly shifts her head and looks past Lydecker like something has caught her eye.

Lydecker turns immediately as he reaches for his gun and then suddenly stops as he realizes…

"Made you look." There's a concealed giggle in Max's tone. "Another 10 points." She whispers to herself but loud enough for Lydecker to hear her.

Turning back, Lydecker squares his shoulders as he pins her with an unimpressed expression. Max just proceeds to pull him a big smile but this time she won't catch him as his expression remains stone solid.

Deciding to quit while she's ahead, Max drops the innocent look. "There was something you wanted to ask me?" She's sure that's what he was going to do before she threw him a curve ball.

"Yes." Lydecker just as quickly drops the unimpressed expression and then turns away. "Since you have watched the visual components…is there anything else that is different?" He knows that Max showed exceptional signs of adapting to the stage 3 components but he was wondering if it'll stick or if it will require multiple or continual sessions.

"Sure, whenever I put my focus on something that is moving, I kinda start seeing it move in slow motion." Max answers nonchalantly as she is trying to cover up the fact that she is actually liking this new ability that she has required. It's useful for some stuff.

"Can you…" There's slight pause. "…see a bullet coming?" Lydecker carefully inquires. He doesn't want to rub Max the wrong way but he has to admit that he is very interested in what Max can be capable of achieving.

"I don't know." Max pulls a frown as her tone is lackadaisical. She then throws Lydecker a look over her shoulder. "And I don't want to find out right now either." Sure being able to see a bullet coming will definitely give her the chance to be able to dodge it. Now that'll be a great ability to have but what puts her on edge is how Lydecker is going to _test_ whether she can or not.

"When then would you like to find out?" Lydecker tries his luck. "In the middle of a combat situation?" Lydecker pushes some more.

Max has her back turned to Lydecker as she is studying the bracelets on her wrists. She notices that the bracelets doesn't have clips. Meaning if she wanted to take them off, she'll have to break them. How did she not notice how he had slipped them onto her wrists?

"Max." Lydecker has a hard time tolerating being ignored but he doesn't want to be harsh with Max. He's just trying to get her attention.

"Fine, how do you plan on finding out?" Max drops her hands with a sigh as she turns to Lydecker. She may not always like his methods but he was right the last time he brought up something like this that she wasn't keen on.

"Come." Lydecker gestures with a nod of his head and then he heads down to the back of the basement.

Following after him, Max is wondering what he is going to do. With Lydecker you can never be too sure.

Lydecker comes to a stop at a corner and then Max reaches it and looks. She spots a target all the way down to the bottom of a row of shelves.

"I'm not touching a gun." Max states with all seriousness. She was sure that Lydecker got that by now.

"You don't have to touch it. All you have to do it see if you can see the bullet." Lydecker makes his way over to a table that has various types of guns on it.

"Stand to the side." Lydecker instructs as he loads a gun and turns back.

A slight sigh of relief passes over Max as she starts walking towards the target. For a moment she wasn't sure if he was going to be shooting right at her. He wouldn't do that right? Of course not.

"Ok." Max announces as she takes up a position standing off to the side of the target.

As Lydecker lifts the weapon Max prepares herself to focus but instead of seeing the bullet, she just sees Lydecker lifting the gun and pointing into her direction. It's all happening in slow motion. And then as the shot goes off, Max is suddenly in a dark place. A cold place. Then looking up she sees Lydecker, he has a gun, and he fires a shot… _Eva goes down…_ maybe this was a bad idea.

As Max breaks out of the memory, one of the more painful ones she has of Manticore and of Lydecker, she looks towards Lydecker as he fades away in the background and then she only sees the bullet. She watches in amazement as she can literally see the bullet cutting through the air coming into her direction. She watches as the bullet passes her and hits the target, a perfect bulls eye.

Before Max can look back to Lydecker, the gun goes off again, and again, and again. Max watches as multiple bullets are moving through the air passing by her. And then before they even hit the target, another round of bullets are fired. As she is looking at the bullets, she wonders to herself if she can perhaps catch one? No, she cannot be fooled like that. Just because she sees them in slow motion, doesn't mean that they are going to stop moving the moment she closes her hand around it.

All the bullets hits the target, all a perfect bulls' eye. Max notes to herself never to piss Lydecker off. He was right when he said he doesn't miss.

"And?" Lydecker asks and Max can clearly hear that he is very interested to hear what the outcome is.

""Sure, I can see them." Max confirms like it's no big deal as she's watching the target. She really doesn't want to get him too excited about it. Who knows what else he will come up with.

The clicking of a weapon being reloaded draws Max's attention. And as she looks to Lydecker, he has continued to fire the weapon and doesn't stop until it's empty. Again Max watches as the bullets passes by her. Perfect strike on the target, again. And for some reason Max gets the feeling that this is what Lydecker does for fun, like a hobby.

As Lydecker turns back to the table to reload again, Max spots some small square pieces of metal lying on the shelf. She moves closer and grabs them. Maybe she can't catch the bullets, but maybe she can throw them off course. A wicked streak suddenly rises in Max as she plays with the idea of making Lydecker miss the target.

Again the gun goes off and Max throws one of the pieces of metal to try and hit a bullet but she misses. She has to learn how to coincide her movements with what she is observing. Meaning she'll have to move a lot faster. Somehow this is different from when she caught that knife.

Lydecker doesn't miss a beat as he continues to empty the gun. And Max continues to try and hit the bullets with the metal pieces.

When the gun fire stops, the clanging of metal hitting the other side of the wall is heard and it echoes through the basement. It's only then that Lydecker realizes what Max is trying to do.

He reloads again without a word, aims and fires.

This time Max uses more speed but she misses still. It's closer to its target but she still misses by a fraction.

As Lydecker reloads with speed that only a trained soldier can possess and the next round of bullets comes, Max notices that she's got a slight feeling of dizziness but decides to ignore it.

This time Max decides to increase the force that she puts behind the throw and…

A metal cling is heard and then a loud metal clang as a bullet hits into one of the steel beams that supports the building structure.

Max grins. "Made you miss." The statement is filled with glee.

But before Max can add the 10 points she is awarding to herself, she sees Lydecker turn his aim towards her. With the speed of an X5, Max quickly slips behind the shelving. Coming to a standstill Max feels a headache coming along to accompany the dizziness that is swirling around in her head.

"Made you doubt." Lydecker's tone has a slight edge of playfulness to it. "I'll take the 10 points back."

 _Sore loser…_ Max comments to herself.

Then as Max hears the gun being reloaded again, she realizes that he was out of bullets anyway. He wasn't going to shoot at her. He would never shoot at his ' _little girl_ '.

She's going to make him pay for that.

As Lydecker fires the gun again, Max steps out from behind the shelf and focuses in on the bullets and then she throws all of the metal pieces she has.

There's a few clings, a clang and a thud as three bullets never arrives at the destination of the target.

"3 out of 15, not bad." Lydecker comments.

"No, 3 out of 8. I only had 8 pieces of metal." Max corrects as she steps forward to pick up the metal pieces to try again. Maybe this isn't so bad, it's kinda fun. But she wonders if the use of this 'ability' is what is causing her head to spin.

Again Lydecker reloads with practiced speed and turns back to the target where he already knows it is and fires…but the moment he fires his heart stops.

Max who has stepped forward to pick up the pieces of metal is right in front of the target, right in front of the bullet.

Hearing the shot go off, Max's senses automatically hones in on the bullet and she sees the bullet coming right at her. She also catches the look on Lydecker's face, it clearly wasn't his intention to fire at her.

Luckily Max has had some practice for the last few minutes with the metal pieces and she knows she has to move faster and use more force and so she does and she out steps the bullet. But just barely as she hears the bullet whizzing past her and it hits the middle of the target.

The next moment a gun is heard being dropped on the floor.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Max tries to reassure with a care free tone as she tries to calm Lydecker down who she knows is probably having a heart attack, well and judging by the devastated expression he had on his face.

Max lifts her hands and hooks her hair behind her ears. "Well at least…" Before Max can turn to Lydecker and face him, he has wrapped his arms around her and pulls her into a firm hug.

"I'm sorry." He whispers but the distress is clear in that whisper.

A moment later He pulls away and then places his hands on either side of Max's head and then proceeds to kiss her all over her head.

"I'm sorry." Again.

Max can feel the tremble in his touch and realizes that this incident has just about shaken him to his core. She then wraps her arms around him and pulls him back into a hug.

Lydecker puts his arms around her and buries his one hand in her hair as he holds onto her. Almost like a desperate man clinging to life.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." There's a clear tremble now evident in his voice. "That wasn't meant to happen."

"I know that." Max tries to assure him that she understands. She's got her arms tightly wrapped around him as the broken rib and who knows what other injuries Lydecker may still have, is completely forgotten in the emotional moment.

"At least now we know I can see a bullet coming and I can dodge it." Max tries to lighten the mood a bit. "Even if I am caught off guard." She is pretty sure that is what he wanted to know in the first place.

Lydecker pulls away just enough to give her another kiss on the side of her head. He then leans his own head against hers.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Max." He sounds like he is starting to get a grip.

Max pulls away from Lydecker and he very reluctantly let's her go.

"Come." Max then takes hold of Lydecker's hand and starts leading him away. "Time for coffee." Trying to get the attention off of the situation.

Lydecker focuses on the warm soft feeling of Max's hand in his as she is leading him upstairs.

 _She's so forgiving,_ Lydecker thinks to himself. So unlike everything that he taught them to be back at Manticore.

Back at Manticore he raised them, trained them and educated them with severity, rigor, exigency, sense of duty and iron discipline so that they can be perfect soldiers with no emotion. Soldiers. Like himself.

For a moment he is glad that Max escaped that night. He is glad that she didn't grow up at Manticore. He is happy with the way that she turned out, with the way that she is now. Who she is now. He doesn't want her to be cold and calculating and without emotion. A warm feeling rises in his heart as he thinks about it.

But then it is replaced with a cold chill as he thinks about what just happened, what just could've happened. He could never stand the idea of losing Max, he could never live with the idea of losing Max.

But…far worse would be to lose Max by his own hand….

If such a thing were to happen, he would not be able to live with himself. He would turn the gun on himself. He will be right behind her, just like he promised her that night.

"Are you alright?" Max carefully asks as she places a cup of coffee in front of Lydecker. He suddenly looks tired, exhausted, broken….

"No." Lydecker answers almost like he is in some trance as he is rubbing his forehead. What just happens replays in his mind…he will never be able to rid himself of this memory.

Max walks over to Lydecker and then takes a seat next to him. She then moves her chair closer and nudges him to get his attention. "It was an accident."

There's a deep breath as Lydecker drops his hand from his forehead. "An accident that would've cost me everything." He then lifts his arm and places it around Max. He pulls her closer and plants a lingering kiss on the side of her head.

Max slightly drops her head as she smiles… _his everything huh?_

Putting the cup down, Max gets to her feet. "I need to lie down. My head is spinning." She could ignore it when it started but now she no longer can.

"Are you alright?" Lydecker asks with his attention solely on Max.

"Yeah, note it down that there is a definite draining effect to using this new found ability multiple times in a row." Max places her hand against her forehead as she exits the kitchen.

As Max lies down on the couch, Lydecker is short on her heels with a chair and then he sits down next to her and places his hand on her forehead, just like she knew he would.

A small smile spreads across her face.

Max then thinks back to what happened. She dodged the bullet with ease actually, it's definitely something that's going to give her the upper hand in a combat situation where the other guy has a gun. Max continues to think about how she concentrated on the bullets. But then she also noticed that towards the end the bullets seemed to start moving faster. Maybe the ability starts wearing off as her mind gets exhausted?

But then Max remembers when the first shot was fired. She recalls the clear memory of Eva. Of Lydecker shooting Eva. And then she thinks upon how Lydecker is freaking out because he almost just shot her.

The memory of when they had Lydecker tied to that chair the day they kidnaped him pops into her mind.

" _I remember Eva dead on the floor, shot by the gun in your hand."_

" _You'll never know how much it pained me to have to do that."_

He has proclaimed how much his _kids_ means to him and he himself said that it 'pained' him to shoot her. But what Max knows now…she knows that Lydecker, when he shoots, he doesn't miss his intended target. She now knows without a doubt that Lydecker shoot to kill that night. His intention was to kill Eva.

"Why did you kill Eva?" Max plainly asks.

There's a deep breath. Maybe it's not the best of time to ask him something like that while he is swaying on the edge of emotion.

"A dog that turns on its owner is of no use." His tone is stable and then he takes another deep breath. "A soldier that turns a gun on their superior is of no use." Lydecker elaborates on his first statement. "They are defective."

There's a moment of silence.

"So it had nothing to do with that she was trying to protect me from you?" Max asks in a whisper.

When Jack seized and was taken away by the doctors, they never saw him again. They were afraid that if they found out that she also started getting seizures that they would take her away and they will never see her again also. Eva was ready to shoot anyone to prevent that from happening. "They were trying to take me away and Eva was the one who was leading?" Max asks if it had anything to do with it.

The only answer that she gets is silence. Somehow Max is not surprised, she is actually expecting Lydecker to get up and walk out without saying another word.

"Back at Manticore there was no room to be slack." Lydecker's tone is soft but slightly dark. "About anything."

He moves his hand on Max's forehead and then he gently starts stroking.

"I'm sorry that things could not be different." His words hangs in the air.

"The idea was always to marry the woman that I loved with all my heart, have a family, have a nice big house, in a nice neighborhood. Have a child, be there at all of her birthday parties as she blows out the candles on her cake, teach her how to ride her first bike, help her with her school projects…" Lydecker's tone starts trailing off.

"At Manticore there was no space to think about things that like, there was no possibility for things like that." Lydecker suddenly stands up and rises to his feet.

"Not after…not after my wife was brutally murdered."

With that Lydecker's tone turns dark and cold.

Max opens her eyes and watches Lydecker standing next to her, staring off into space. He has that emotionless look on his face. His mind just left this reality, he's gone.

Lydecker abruptly turns to walk away when Max grabs hold of his hand. Lydecker turns back and looks to Max, clearly he is startled by that.

"But you still have me." Max's tone is one of reminding him about something that he has momentarily forgotten.

Lydecker just stares back at her. Max wonders if he realizes that the expression on his face is like an open book, it betrays him.

Still holding onto his hand, Max sits up and then she pulls Lydecker down to sit next to her.

Max then places her head on his shoulder.

A moment later she lets out a dismissive snort. "Learn how to ride a bike…I can drive any vehicle, operate just about any form of equipment, after I've just wiped the floor with 50 guys with guns, and I'll be on my way to fence the copper I just took from right under their noses." Her tone is jovial.

"Maybe I'm trying to say that just because the white picket fence dream didn't quite work out according to plan...it doesn't mean that everything else is lost."

Max sits up as Lydecker moves and then he places his arm around Max and pulls her back to lay her head on his chest. He places a kiss on her head and then a small smile appears on his face as his mind returns back to the reality of his life. He has Max. He has Max in his life and she wants to be there.

All isn't lost.

* * *

Lydecker killed Sandoval in Season 1 ep 20 'Meow'.

Lydecker also questioned and interrogated Brin in Season 1 ep 20.

Max got Jace and went over Lydecker's head with her bike while blowing him a kiss in Season 1 ep 14 'Female Trouble'

Lydecker was going to shoot Max and then himself in a double suicide and he promised Max that he'll be right behind her, in Season 1 ep 21 'Caserole'.

Thanks for reading:)

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